Associate Bonus Watch: 4 Firms Follow Davis Polk

Congrats to associates at these fine firms!

If you’re involved in setting associate bonuses at your firm, you need to stay glued to Above the Law around this time of year. The discontent we’ve heard about over Gibson Dunn bonuses on the West Coast, especially in the Orange County office, might be the result of the powers-that-be at GDC not knowing that the Simpson Thacher bonus scale, which Gibson apparently took as its lodestar, has been supplanted by the more generous Davis Polk bonus scale. One Gibson source tells us that “partners have been overheard proudly proclaiming that the firm is paying ‘market’ bonuses,” which raises the possibility that maybe Gibson partners don’t know what “market” is right now.

But many other firms have gotten the memo. Here are the latest firms to adopt the Davis Polk bonuses:

1. Milbank Tweed: Milbank announced Simpson bonuses on November 23. Yesterday afternoon, Milbank “updated” its bonuses to follow Davis Polk.

2. Willkie Farr & Gallagher: Willkie announced Simpson-level bonuses on November 25. This week Willkie bumped bonuses up to DPW levels.

3. Freshfields: The firm originally followed the Simpson bonus scale, but just upped payouts to match Davis Polk — and fellow Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance, which announced DPW-level bonuses last Friday.

4. Covington & Burling: In its New York office (no word yet from D.C. or other outposts), Covington is matching the Davis Polk scale. Full memo on the next page.

UPDATE (12/17/2014, 3:30 p.m.): Comment from a Covington source: “We were incredibly busy this past year, as it seems were many other firms, but it’s nonetheless nice to know that a rising tide lifts all boats.”

Sponsored

So that’s the latest in Davis Polk matches. See, DPW, aren’t you glad you trumped Simpson? Now you’ll get weeks of headlines reading “[Firm X] Followed Davis Polk.” Law students and laterals will think of you as the compensation leader among the big New York lockstep firms.

We’re working on a few more bonus stories that are a bit trickier than straightforward Davis matches. If you’d like to tell us about your firm’s bonuses, whether good or bad, feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8477).

(Flip to the next page for the complete Covington memo.)

Sponsored


Bonus Time

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL's Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.