Associate Bonus Watch: Two More Firms Hop On The Cravath Bonus Bandwagon

Both of these firms are paying New York bonuses to associates in their smaller offices, so that's a nice change!

Biglaw firms are still rushing to match this year’s Cravath bonus scale, and we’ll continue to bring our readers information about these followers until we (hopefully) get bigger and better news from the likes of Davis Polk or Sullivan & Cromwell.

This afternoon, Proskauer Rose and Weil Gotshal both announced their own Cravath bonus matches, with the only difference being the date upon which the firms will make payouts to their associates. Proskauer will pay its associates’ bonus bucks on December 22, but Weil will wait until after the new year, on January 29, 2016, to fatten its associates’ wallets.

Here’s some commentary from associates at both firms on this unsurprising news:

Weil Gotshal

  • “As expected, Weil matched Cravath. I’ve yet to hear a valid reason for why bonuses are paid at the end of January instead of sometime in December like most (all?) of our peers. Associates here are used to it, but it’s frustrating nonetheless.”
  • “No surprise. We always follow our peer firms.”
  • “Seems like the big news everybody waited for was Cravath’s (or other first mover’s) announcement. Nobody expected anything other than a match, so today’s email is nothing exciting.”

Proskauer Rose

  • “Proskauer always follows the market so this was completely expected and I certainly have no complaints. I won’t view this as the final scale until DPW and S&C announce. If either of them one-up Cravath I’d fully expect Proskauer to follow.”
  • “I was expecting the Cravath match (but of course always hoping for more!). Proskauer always follows the pack with bonuses.”
  • “Proskauer is very upfront about following the market when it comes to bonuses. The bonus seems fair, and it’s nice that they pay New York market to associates in some smaller markets.”

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Our last Proskauer source is correct — the firm is doing something very nice for associates in certain smaller markets by paying them New York bonuses. It’s worth mentioning that Weil is also paying New York bonuses to associates in other markets. As we’ve mentioned in the past, associates in outside markets sometimes aren’t so lucky.

For all the rest of the firms out there that haven’t announced bonuses yet, what are you waiting for? You know that as soon as one of the big boys announces a better bonus scale, you’ll scramble to match it as quickly as you can. Would it be too painful to type out a second memo announcing the respective match after your first bonus memo comes out? Your associates know all too well that you’ll be matching Cravath’s bonus scale, so what on earth is the hold up? Unless you’re DPW or S&C, you know you’re probably not beating market bonuses, so hurry up and make with the announcements and payouts.

Once again, if your firm has announced its 2015 bonuses, please email us or text us (646-820-8477). We look forward to keeping you informed.

(Flip through the following pages to see the bonus announcements from both firms.)

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