Guess Which Biglaw Leader Is Raising Salaries Now...

Another (white)shoe falls.

money in the handsUPDATE (6/9/16 1:06 p.m.): Now we know about the summers… read on.

It’s amazing how quickly partners can get something done once Cravath’s pushed them to do it. Two days after Cravath set the new bar for associate compensation, firms are falling all over themselves to hand out raises to their associates. Biglaw partnerships are notoriously cautious and slow-moving, but Cravath has a way of moving that process along whether it’s bonus season or associate raises.

Now Davis Polk joins the mix, announcing the full adoption of the Cravath pay scale. Too bad they weren’t willing to go over the top — like they did in bonus season a couple years ago — and get us to $190K

The memo is here. A few items of note:

1. Much as Simpson Thacher indicated that it would provide comparable raises to “English law qualified associates,” Davis Polk also takes the time to recognize its foreign-based attorneys with a promised increase based on their seniority.

2. This scale goes to ’07/$325K as opposed to topping out with the class of ’08/$315K. Right now this is the big divergence point between firms issuing raises.

3. Counsel compensation is being “addressed separately.” Another subject we’ll revisit in a future post.

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Also no word in this memo about summers, but it’s not been uncommon for summers to get their news from a separate email so we’ll let you know if and when we hear about that. UPDATE: Summers will be enjoying this raise too. Managing Partner Tom Reid announced the move at a breakfast Q&A with summers.

Congrats DPW!

Memo available on the next page.

Remember, when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches Cravath”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.


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Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

DPW


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