Biglaw, Bonuses, Money

Associate Bonus Watch: Gibson Dunn Upgrades Its Bonuses

Gibson Dunn does right by its associates outside New York.

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Let’s balance out the bad bonus news with the good. Let’s give credit where credit is due.

Earlier this month, Gibson Dunn paid out bonuses on the original Simpson Thacher scale to its associates outside New York. While that scale was generous, it was somewhat less generous than the Davis Polk scale that pretty much all the cool kids — including, it should be noted, Simpson itself — had already adopted.

So the Gibson Dunn bonuses were not well received by associates outside New York. And when GDC then matched DPW in New York, the feeling among non-New Yorkers of being second-class citizens only increased.

Today, however, Gibson Dunn did right by its non-NYC lawyers. Earlier today, we started to receive excited utterances from Gibson associates around the country reporting that the firm had adopted the Davis scale. Managing partner Ken Doran sent around an email stating, in pertinent part, “We want our compensation system to reflect our deep gratitude and to be, and to be perceived as being, fair and generous. In keeping with that philosophy, we have decided to adjust our baseline bonuses in the Classes of 2008-2011 to reflect changes in the relevant market.”

Yay! Doran’s email was bcc’d, but upon information and belief, the move applies to all of Gibson’s U.S. offices. We’ve heard from sources in California, Colorado, D.C., and Texas who received the Doran email.

How do GDC associates feel about the news? Well, how do you think?

  • “Needless to say, we are thrilled that the firm has chosen to do right by its associates.”
  • “The firm revised bonuses today to match DPW scale. Very happy that the firm is now in line with market.”
  • “Gibson Dunn DC just upped the associate bonus scale to meet the Davis scale. Maybe pressure from bad press forced their hands.”
  • “Just received an email that Gibson is adjusting bonus scale for midlevels. Thank you!”

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You’re welcome! But remember: we can’t do our job of bringing transparency to Biglaw compensation without your help. If you have bonus information we have not previously reported, please send it our way via email — using your personal email account is fine, no need to use your firm email — or text message (646-820-8477).

UPDATE (12/31/2014, 10:30 a.m.): After this story was published, we did hear some dissent: “Not everyone at Gibson is happy. It appears that bonuses for low billers were not adjusted upward — e.g., someone who got a 50% bonus on the original Simpson scale due to low hours was not bumped up to 50% of the DPW scale.” (Moral of the story: hours matter at bonus time, at least if you’re not at a 100 percent lockstep place like Cravath, where everyone in good standing gets the same bonus without regard to hours billed.)

Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Gibson Dunn New York Bucks West Coast, Matches DPW
Associate Bonus Watch: Which Biglaw Firm Is Shortchanging Its Associates?
Associate Bonus Watch: 5 Firms Foster Frustration

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