Law Firms With High Profits Per Partner Continue To Embarrass Themselves By Not Raising Compensation

Associates, it may be time to consider a lateral move if your firm is unwilling to compensate you fairly.

jaws returnsWe’ve been closely monitoring legal markets across the country ever since Cravath decided to raise associate salaries to the $180K scale. Some firms have fallen in line, and others have remained silent, causing their associates to wonder why they hadn’t considered moving to greener law firm pastures sooner.

Last week, we wondered, “[W]hat is the real cost for law firms of not moving to the market salary? [T]hey run the very real risk of losing some of their best talent to firms willing to play ball.”
This statement could not have been more realistic. Thus far, more than 60 firms have matched the Cravath scale, and associates at firms that have been hesitant to upgrade their salary scales have received emails like this from recruiters:

Well reality bites.

Dechert hasn’t stepped up to the new money reality across the board. While it may very well do so, what is it waiting for?

Dechert is supposed to be a market leader! (And, as the firm doesn’t appear on the latest salary wars scorecard being updated by Above the Law, the entire community can see that it really isn’t!)

This isn’t what you signed up for when you chose Dechert, was it?

Why not take advantage of a market that has real opportunities available at firms that HAVE stepped up and HAVE increased compensation across the board for ALL class years?

Aren’t you worth it?

Call me and we’ll talk about your options.

That email was sent to Dechert associates last night, and early this morning, the firm finally announced its associate salary raises. But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter which firm’s associates received this email — its content is applicable to associates at all firms that have failed to take action on a nationwide movement that has shaken the legal industry — for large firms in particular — to its very core.

There are still many, many Am Law 100 firms with profits per partner that exceed $1 million that have not announced market salary raises. Those firms include the following:

1. Wachtell Lipton: $6,600,000
19. King & Spalding: $2,515,000
35. Fragomen: $1,850,000
38. WilmerHale: $1,810,000
43. Alston & Bird: $1,745,000
51. Morgan Lewis: $1,530,000
52. Katten: $1,510,000
53. Fish & Richardson: $1,490,000
54. Greenberg Traurig: $1,475,000
55. Sheppard Mullin: $1,445,000
56. Kaye Scholer: $1,380,000
58. Holland & Knight: $1,250,000
61. Pillsbury: $1,185,000
63. Foley & Lardner: $1,130,000
64. Reed Smith: $1,105,000
65. Perkins Coie: $1,100,000
66. Mintz Levin: $1,065,000
67. Venable: $1,060,000
68. McGuire Woods: $1,045,000
70. Pepper Hamilton: $1,025,000
71. Seyfarth: $1,020,000
72. Jones Day: $1,010,000

With no indication that any of these firms will consider fairly compensating their associates with market salaries any time soon, we have a message for associates: “Why not take advantage of a market that has real opportunities available at firms that HAVE stepped up and HAVE increased compensation across the board for ALL class years?”

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Remember, we are covering this trend extensively, so please drop us a line — text (646-820-8477) or email (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches Cravath”) — when you know of another firm making a compensation move. 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. All sources are kept strictly confidential.

Earlier: Profits Per Partner At Am Law 100 Firms That Have Not Raised Salaries For Associates
Elite Firms Need To Increase Compensation — Recruiters Smell Blood In The Water


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.

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