CA To $190K!? Which Firm Raised First-Year Salaries?
This firm was willing to bump up first-year starting salaries to a number that's been seen only in associates' dreams.
As first-year associates at large law firms know all too well, the last time associate base salaries were raised across the board was nine years ago, on January 22, 2007, when Simpson Thacher & Bartlett announced that it would raise starting salaries for entry-level associates from $145,000 to $160,000. Since then, first-year salaries have remained stagnant, and associates’ desperate cries of “NY to 190!” have largely gone ignored.
This past fall, we thought Simpson Thacher had finally decided to take action based on a copy of a memo we’d received, but unfortunately, it was nothing more than a false flame. It seems that we’ve come to rely upon the New York market as an agent of change for too long a time. Why not look to the West Coast for a firm that’s willing to bump up first-year starting salaries to a number that’s been seen only in associates’ dreams?
We’ve just received word that a member of the $160K-Plus Club, a group of firms that pay starting salaries greater than $160,000, has further increased its already incredibly high starting salary of $187,500 to $190,000. Which highly selective firm just fulfilled the fantasies of associates everywhere?
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It’s none other than Dovel & Luner, a California litigation boutique that specializes in plaintiff-side patent litigation on a contingency fee basis. The firm has just eight lawyers, but if you look at their bios, you’ll see a nothing but a glittering array of top law schools, elite clerkships, and leading Biglaw firms in their backgrounds.
The firm might be tiny, but the rewards of working there are huge (you can click the image to enlarge it, but you should be able to read those big numbers just fine):
Dovel & Luner’s first-year salary increase to $190K may not move the needle for Biglaw firms nationwide, but it may certainly have an impact on certain other firms that are either comparable to Dovel & Luner, are members of the $160K-Plus Club, or both. If you’re interested in making more money than your peers, here is a listing of those firms (please email us or text us (646-820-8477) if any of these numbers are outdated):
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- Bickel & Brewer: First-year salary of $185,000
- Boies Schiller & Flexner: First-year salary of $174,000
- Desmarais LLP: First-year salary of $180,000
- McKool Smith: First-year compensation package of $177,500
- Susman & Godfrey: First-year compensation package of $175,000
- Wachtell Lipton: First-year salary of $165,000
- Williams & Connolly: First-year salary of $200,000
- Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C.: First-year compensation package of $170,000
- Kellogg Huber: First-year salary of $225,000
We wish you the very best of luck if you try to land a job at one of these firms, since it will likely prove to be a very difficult endeavor given their exacting standards.
Congratulations to Dovel & Luner for raising its first-year salary to the vaunted number of $190,000. What an achievement! We hope to see more firms follow in its footsteps.
Earlier: The $160K-Plus Club: A Boutique With Biglaw-Beating Bonuses
The $160K-Plus Club: Which Law Firms Pay the Biggest Starting Salaries?
The $160K-Plus Club Welcomes A New Member
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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
