The bar has been set for 2009 bonuses by Cravath, and most firms are falling in line.  Check out the ATL Career Center, powered by Lateral Link, for the latest information from the legal markets and updates from users about bonuses and everything else you wanted to know about top law firms.  In the last week, we have updated the firm snapshots for Davis Polk, Orrick, Schulte Roth, Debevoise, Simpson Thatcher, Milbank Tweed, Patton Boggs, Willkie Farr, Skadden Arps and Paul Weiss.  Below are a few of the latest updates from the Career Center’s firm snapshots:

• This firm announced that that it would not only be continuing its pay freeze and keeping 2010 salaries at 2008 levels, but it would be further cutting salaries for those associates who fail to meet their billable hour goal by more than 300 hours.  
• This firm debuted its new compensation structure: associates will be grouped into three levels, and advancement from one level to the next will be based on merit, not class year. 
• This firm matched Cravath for first- through sixth-year associate bonuses, but is giving seventh-year associates a $5,000 bump up from Cravath levels. 

Use the Career Center’s firm snapshots and comparison tool to learn about other bonus news at firms around the country. 

After the jump, we reveal the most popular firms on the Career Center last month.

The firms that were most closely watched in November were:

1. Sidley Austin LLP
2. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP
3. Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP
4. Vinson & Elkins L.L.P.
5. Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP
6. Covington & Burling
7. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
8. Ropes & Gray LLP
9. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
10. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

And, as always, we encourage you to send information about your law firm experience to careercenter@abovethelaw.com.