Biglaw, Money

Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: A Long-Neglected Market Gets A Raise

Another salary bump sets the market in one corner of the legal world.

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bonus money cash boxIt’s been a few months since we’ve been able to announce a salary bump from the suddenly volatile Pacific Northwest. As you may recall, Perkins Coie bumped up its Seattle salaries back in October, and rival Stoel Rives joined the craze offering its Seattle associates a bit more too — though, it’s worth noting, less than Perkins Coie pays.

When Stoel Rives announced its decision, we noted that the firm’s Portland office was not included in the fun:

But it’s not all good news for Stoel Rives, as the firm’s large Portland office got left in the cold, despite big increases in housing prices making the area less and less affordable every year.

There’s still hope for those hipster lawyers in Stumptown as Van Brocklin’s memo concluded by promising “market adjustments to other selected 2016 associate salaries in a number of our offices and at various experience levels.”

Perkins Coie must have seen that and decided to up the ante in Portland too:

Perkins Coie’s Portland office bumped their first year salary by $20k from 115,000 to 135,000, bringing it back in line with their Seattle office, which was bumped to 145,000 earlier this year. I heard this from a mid-level associate in the Portland office and also noticed a change on their NALP page for the Portland office. As the top firm in the PNW, the raise puts them at least $20k above any other firm in Portland, a market desperately in need of a salary push given the skyrocketing price of rent.

Perkins Coie has indeed updated its NALP page and fired another salvo in the Northwest salary wars. Congratulations to Perkins Coie’s Portland gang on their new moolah. Go out and enjoy a free-range kale burger or whatever you people eat.

The ball’s in your court now, Stoel Rives.

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Earlier: Northwest Salary Wars Continue — And Two Other Markets Get Raises Too
Which Firm Just Gave Its First-Years A $20,000 Raise?

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