Career Center: Show Me The Money

The results of the 2010 ATL Career Center Associate Satisfaction survey are in, and they are part of the all new Career Center, powered by Lateral Link. Over the next few weeks, we will be highlighting insider information shared by Career Center users.

Today, it’s all about the money — compensation. Tell us about the comp structure at your firm — click here to take our short survey.

  • This firm is known for its “entrepreneurial culture,” but is a follower when it comes to bonus amounts, with only a "few stars get[ting] . . . above-market" bonuses.
  • This "incredibly well managed law firm” has not jumped on the non-lockstep compensation bandwagon and still provides strictly lock-step salaries and bonuses.
  • This Texas-based firm has announced it will be moving to a hybrid-lockstep compensation system in 2010, but awarded "better-than-expected" bonuses in 2009.
  • This Washington, D.C.-based firm cut starting salaries to $135,000 in January 2010 but also unfroze previously frozen mid-and senior-level associate salaries.  
  • This firm unfroze salaries in January 2010, awarded year-end market bonuses, and made good on its earlier promise to repay lost 2009 salaries as additional year-end, make-whole bonuses.

Additional compensation highlights, which will interest readers who are either (1) researching firms to work for or (2) involved in setting comp at their own firms, appear after the jump.

  • This firm, known for its "generous" compensation, awards bonuses as a percentage of base salary; however, after years of bonuses equal to 100% of base compensation, its 2008 bonuses fell to approximately 70% of base compensation and its 2009 bonuses fell to 50%.  
  • This firm’s associate compensation remains lock-step and "typical top-market," but changes in its partner compensation model implemented in 2008 resulted in some partners’ pay being reduced by as much as 80%.
  • This firm awards discretionary bonuses based on hours and other subjective factors, but also has a unique, additional bonus program, in which it compensates associates who attract new business to the firm.
  • This "Magic Circle" firm announced that starting in 2011, compensation in its non-U.S. offices will be based on performance rather than class year; compensation in U.S. offices remains on a set, lock-step scale.
  • This firm, known for its international practice across the globe from Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi to Tokyo, awards bonuses for the two most junior classes of associates on a lock-step basis, while mid-level and senior associates receive bonuses based on performance.
  • This firm’s recent major merger may bring changes to its compensation system, but for now, associates are grouped into one of two compensation tracks: a below-market track for associates who bill 1,800 hours and another, market-level track for those who bill 1,950 hours.

For more on compensation and everything else you wanted to know about Big Law firms, visit the Career Center, powered by Lateral Link.

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