Biglaw, Bonuses, Money

Associate Bonus Watch: The First Cravath Match -- Wow, That Was Fast!

At least one prominent Biglaw firm won't be trying to trump Cravath.

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It seems that Cravath’s 2015 associate bonus scale, based on last year’s (very generous) Davis Polk scale, has made some people very happy — and we’re not just talking about Cravath associates.

The Cravath memo went out at around 3:15 p.m., and our story went up at 3:23 p.m. At around 3:47 p.m. — i.e., in less than half an hour after the news broke — Milbank Tweed issued its own bonus memo matching the Cravath scale (which we’ve posted on the next page).

The only real difference is that the Milbank bonuses will be paid not in December, like the Cravath bonuses, but on January 15. That’s nothing new, however; as we noted in covering the 2014 Milbank bonus announcement, it’s the firm’s standard practice to pay bonuses in January.

Some Milbank tipsters were amused, however, by the speed of the memo’s issuance:

  • “Amazingly, the email came within 25 minutes of your post about Cravath. Someone’s drafts box must have been pretty pregnant for a few days.”
  • “Looks like they waited until just after Cravath to announce bonuses matching Cravath. Makes you wonder how many versions of this email were prepared…”
  • “The email went out lightning quick after your story broke.”
  • “We were all surprised that the firm announced so quickly. As you likely remember, Milbank likes to observe for a few days/firms before matching whatever the prevailing scale is.”

Last year, for example, Simpson announced bonuses on the morning of Friday, November 21, and Milbank didn’t match until Monday, November 24 (even though quite a few firms followed on the Friday).

Why did Milbank move so swiftly? One associate identified two possible explanations: “a ‘nice, don’t worry we pay market’ gesture for associates, or an attempt to create momentum to avoid a Simpson Thacher/Davis Polk situation.”

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Here are some reactions from Milbankers to the substance of the announcement:

  • “Satisfied.”
  • “I’m content. At least we didn’t go down. I’m still holding out for another firm to up the ante with either a bigger bonus or a salary bump, though.”
  • “Really no surprise at all. Absolutely as expected. Nobody thought it would be more or less than last year, although there was a glimmer of hope.”

And there still is a glimmer of hope, at least until all other members of the “Fab Five” weigh in and follow Cravath. Last year, you may recall, Milbank “updated” its bonus to the Davis Polk scale after initially following Simpson.

Thanks to our Milbank sources for the memo. When your firm’s bonus memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus”). We keep our sources on bonus stories anonymous, of course. No need to send the memo using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. You can take a photo of the memo and attach as a picture if you are worried about metadata in a PDF or Word file. Thanks!

(Flip to the next page to read the complete Milbank memo, from chairman Scott Edelman.)

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