Associate Bonus Watch: Yet Another Firm Matches Simpson

We’re filling up the main page with pictures of cash today! After years of waiting around for Cravath to tell everyone what to do, Biglaw firms are moving fast and furious to match Simpson Thacher’s surprise bonus announcement this morning. First Paul Weiss, now Cleary Gottlieb.

Just as in past years, Cleary sweetened their bonus pot slightly by agreeing to pay out early. Per the announcement memo, Cleary associates will be rewarded on December 19 as opposed to December 30. Hey, if you’re going to be a follower on the amount, you should be a leader on the schedule. And those 11 days are nothing to sneeze at — if you order on December 19, Amazon can still deliver some pretty great gifts in time for Christmas!

With three venerable firms on board, I think we can officially say the Simpson scale has inertia. The question is, who will act next? Which brings us to a Cleary tipster who sums up the news of the day:

The Trump Gold Card: A New $1 Million Pathway To A U.S. Green Card

A new proposal would let wealthy foreign nationals secure an opportunity for a U.S. green card with a $1 million 'gift' to the government, sparking legal and ethical debate.

By James Pittman, JD, Co-Founder of 8am DocketWise

Glad we’re not waiting for grouchy Uncle Cravath!

Yeah, where is Uncle Cravath anyway? We’ve seen Cravath beaten to the punch before, but getting passed repeatedly is new. This time a pair of major players in the market didn’t even wait around breathlessly to see how Cravath would react, they just went ahead and embraced their new compensation frontrunner in a matter of hours. Guess the big dog doesn’t rule the playground any more.

You’ve got to think Cravath can’t wait much longer to send their “me too” memo. With every firm that announces, Cravath’s proud position as the industry leader on this stuff slips further away.

As per usual, check out the Cleary announcement memo on the next page….