Associate Bonus Watch: More Market Matches

More firms match the market -- yay!

We continue to receive word of additional firms matching the generous Davis Polk/updated Simpson Thacher bonus scale. For associates at these firms, the holidays are happy indeed.

And we continue to hear gripes as well. Folks at Hogan Lovells, Sheppard Mullin, and Irell & Manella, covered previously in this story, want additional light shone on their plight. We’ve also heard rumblings of discontent from some at Fenwick & West and Jackson Lewis (but need more tips before we do a story, since it’s possible that our sources are not representative; feel free to email us or text us (646-820-8477) if you have something to say).

For today, the day after Christmas, let’s focus on happy news: firms that have matched the market.

1. White & Case. On December 8, White & Case matched the original — and generous — Simpson Thacher scale. After Davis Polk announced its even more generous bonus scale, we asked W&C if they’d be updating their bonuses. They didn’t respond directly to our query, but on December 23 the firm went ahead and matched Davis.

2. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. The firm matched the DPW scale “for New York associates who have met the Firm’s standard performance criteria.” Excellent.

3. Dechert: On December 24, Dechert matched the Davis scale. Some representative reactions:

  • “Dechert did full DPW match. Hyperventilating here…. Super super super happy. Dechert can be ‘frugal,’ so nice they are putting their money where their mouths are.”
  • “Dechert just matched, on the Davis scale, minimum 1950 hours (which includes pro bono and ‘firm-as-client’) as promised last year. I couldn’t be happier with my Christmas gift!”
  • “Very pleased. One of the things to note is that Dechert is very generous with its pro bono policy: 200 pro bono hours automatically count towards ‘bonus hours,’ and the firm generally allows associates to exceed that number. This means that the firm actually puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to pro bono, and associates aren’t tempted (as they perhaps are at other firms) to fill downtime running up fees — they can turn to pro bono work without it hurting their bonus.”

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For the fine print — the 1950 hours requirement and what counts towards it, the good standing requirement, the payment date — check out the full Dechert memo, posted on the next page.

Congrats to all the happy associates at this trio of law firms. If you have bonus news that you’d like us to cover, please email us or text us (646-820-8477), and we’ll look into it when we’re back online next week.

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