Associate Bonus Watch: Are D.C.-Based Firms 'Cheap'?

This law firm is a great place to work, but associates would appreciate a little extra cash.

Are Washington lawyers getting pennies on the New York dollar?

Are Washington lawyers getting pennies on the New York dollar?

Back in 2008, I wrote a field guide to New York versus D.C. lawyers for the New York Observer. The bottom line: “The Washington legal world is driven by elaborate hierarchies of power and prestige,” while New York is all about “money, money, money. Emphasis on business and making things happen. Shoes tell who’s who.”

And it seems that New York lawyers are purchasing at Prada while D.C. lawyers are patronizing Payless. The top New York firms pay generous bonuses, according to the Cravath scale, while the top D.C. firms seem to be paying… something different.

Take Hogan Lovells, which traces its roots back to Hogan & Hartson — one of Washington’s toniest firms, the former professional home of Chief Justice John Roberts. Hogan associates we’ve heard from aren’t happy with their bonuses, which came out in late December. For example:

Mid-level associate with 2000+ billable hours and strong reviews. Received below market bonus. No one is surprised, but everyone is unhappy. Now motivated to lateral to a New York, Boston or LA firm with offices in D.C. The D.C.-based firms are cheap.

And Hogan isn’t the only Washington firm we’ve heard about where associates are displeased. See also, e.g., Arnold & Porter.

Covington & Burling, arguably the top dog among D.C.’s major Biglaw firms, basically matched market in New York (as for D.C., stay tuned). It seems that Hogan Lovells also matched in New York, but only if you hit 2000 hours — which apparently wasn’t that easy to do, according to one source:

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Corporate associates in the New York office have struggled to put together a continuous stream of billable work. The available deal flow has been sporadic at best…. [L]itigation associates have been slightly better at getting billable, but not by much unless you’re in [a specific client] group….

[T]he firm already knew that the universe of bonus-eligible associates in the NY office was going to be narrow because most associates didn’t make the 2000 hour mark in 2014…. [A]pparently the firm paid 2015 market bonuses to associates in the NY office who hit the 2000 mark. I say “apparently” because I haven’t heard any uproars like last year, but I could be wrong. But what I have heard is discontent from the people on the margins who did not receive bonuses, [including some who were supposed to get pro-rated bonuses but instead got nothing]….

I gather that most associates you poll in the NY office will say that they did NOT receive a bonus for 2015 and that they expected that outcome. However, there are some associates and staff attorneys who were expecting to get a bonus who didn’t.

How does the Hogan partnership justify its, er, fiscally restrained approach to bonuses? A tipster tells us:

Whenever we talk about money with the partners here, we get the same old story about how Hogan is not a firm that takes on debt like other firms do in order to make payroll. That may be true but, from an associate’s perspective, we don’t care how the firm pays its bills. Our only concerns are doing good work and being compensated for it.

So it sucks that this firm goes out of its way to figure out how to avoid paying for things that its peer firms have no trouble paying for, whether it’s paying market-rate bonuses or reimbursing associates for business development dinners. In short, the firm is just cheap. There’s no other way to say it….

[This cheapness is] unfortunate because Hogan is a good firm. We like working here. But the firm leadership doesn’t seem to get the big picture….

Hogan Lovells is, indeed, an excellent workplace. It has a B-plus in the ATL Insider Survey — a strong grade, considering that our curve is a lot harsher than that of a T14 law school — and 89 percent of its lawyers said they’d go to Hogan if they had to do it all over again. Like many other Washington-based firms, Hogan Lovells boasts ample prestige and a strong pro bono program. It just isn’t the place to go if you want the biggest paycheck.

Of course, when picking a law firm, money isn’t everything. But it is a thing, to be sure, and a thing that Hogan lawyers — as well as D.C. lawyers more generally — would appreciate a bit more of.

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Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Baker & McKenzie, Hogan Lovells, Haynes And Boone
Associate Bonus Watch: 10 Leading Law Firms — Who’s Naughty And Who’s Nice?


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