Associate Bonus Watch: Baker & McKenzie, Hogan Lovells, Haynes And Boone

Shall we start with the good news, or the bad news?

3. Haynes and Boone. Congrats to HayBoo on its recent win in our annual holiday card contest. The firm is now a two-time winner.

Alas, some associates feel that Haynes and Boone was a bit of a scrooge in terms of bonuses. One source reports:

Bonuses were announced December 16. In Texas, we have a complicated compensation system, which features a “high-low” base annual compensation. If you are on “high base,” which is accomplished by billing 2000 billable hours in the year prior, base compensation matches market. The “low base” varies by class year but will never falls below $160k.

Associates who were at “high base” annual compensation and who billed only 2000-2050 hours this year generally received no bonus this year or received a nominal amount (e.g. 2500-5000), regardless of class level. Associates who billed 2150-2300 and who were at high base annual compensation, generally received $10-$30k depending on class year.

If you were at “low base” annual compensation, you were eligible for a “catch up bonus” if you billed 2000 hours in 2014. The catch up bonus would be the amount required to put you at the high base for your class year. For example, low base for 2nd years was 165k, high base was 170k, so if you billed 2000 and were at low base you got a 5k catch up bonus. Obviously, catch up bonuses increased in size as your class year increased. I believe low base was 185k for 5th year associates and 230k was high base. So, if you were at low base and billed 2000 hours, you got a 45k catch up bonus. Associates who received catch up bonuses generally received no additional bonuses unless hours were very very high.

Associates in TX were generally unhappy, although some high billers were decently compensated if you use LAST YEAR’S bonuses scale as the measuring stick. The firm considers itself “peer” to Baker Botts and VE, but certainly does not pay bonuses like those firms.

We reached out to the firm, which issued this comment through a spokesperson: “Haynes and Boone is committed to attracting and retaining the best associates, and we believe our compensation system achieves that objective by being flexible to compensate all of our associates appropriately for the contributions that they are making to the firm.”

Fair enough. Look on the bright side, Texans. In a state with a low cost of living and no state income tax, $160,000 easily allows you to buy the proverbial 3500-square-foot house and matching Lexus. The city of Dallas, where Haynes and Boone has a major presence, is the nation’s #1 city in terms of Biglaw buying power.

What other bonus news is emerging from the Lone Star State? If you have info to share, y’all should give us a holler, by email or by text (646-820-8477).

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