Salary Cuts

K&L Gates Salary Cut Follow Up

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Yesterday, we reported that K&L Gates cut salaries for its incoming associates. The salary cut is just for a few of the firm’s many offices, but it looks like I got the offices wrong. The firm still hasn’t responded to my request for clarification, but tipsters who work at K&L Gates have helped set the record straight.
Yesterday’s report was based on phone calls the firm made to incoming associates over the weekend. But K&L Gates also held meetings on Friday with associates in the firm’s various offices. The salary cuts on incoming associates will only affect four of the firm’s offices: Charlotte, Dallas, Raleigh, and Seattle. But the cuts will affect each office differently. A tipster reports:

They cut salaries for incoming first years in only 4 of the 33 offices, and the salary cuts depended upon which city they’re in. For instance, Dallas incoming salaries were dropped from 160k to 150k.

Okay, but that’s just the bad news and it only affects people about to start with the firm. For associates already at the firm, there was a lot of good news from the Friday meetings.
Details after the jump.


Associates at the firm report that the salary thaw is on at K&L Gates:

[Y]ou guys left out the highlight of the meeting–they UNFROZE our salaries effective March 1, 2010! They are unfreezing in all offices, across the board…. The reason it is effective march 1 is because this has always been the date on which salary increases are effective at K&L. I know it sounds strange, but that’s the way it has always been. That has always been the date that salaries go up, that’s when bonuses are paid, and that’s when partnership is effective for those voted into partnership in December…so nothing shady there …

We understand that it is only an unfreeze and not a true up as they are planning at Latham. But we also understand that K&L will be paying bonuses to people that hit 1950 hours.
And there’s one more, potentially great, thing. A tipster reports:

Kalis affirmatively said the firm “will not be conducting any layoffs.”

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Let’s hope that no layoff promise includes no stealth layoffs.
Earlier: Christmas Salary Cuts at K&L Gates

Nationwide Layoff Watch: K&L Gates Reduces by 36 Associates

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