Let's Hear From The Furious Associates At Firms That Haven't Matched!
These people are really peeved at their bosses.
The bulk of the Biglaw establishment has announced a salary jump of some kind. It may be a full match or fall short of associate hopes and dreams, but most players have made their move.
But some folks haven’t. Whether they’re just slow, in denial, or smooth don’t care, there are some big firms that haven’t said anything about raises yet. And you’d better believe we’ve been hearing from lawyers inside these firms. So we thought we’d just feature some of the loudest clamoring we’re hearing.
This is not an exhaustive list of firms that haven’t made raises. But hopefully this will clue a few firms in to the associate mutiny bubbling under their noses.
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First up, Jones Day. Apparently in between clubbing pregnant baby seals — or whatever nefarious activity Donald Trump’s chosen representatives get into for kicks these days — Jones Day can’t be bothered to work out a new compensation plan.
There has been a lot of chatter underground on whether the firm will match. Management remains tight lipped. Associates internally are starting to consider other options. The Jones Day fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30, so we will find out our salary probably Friday. Management might wait until then, but damage has already been done. Only us and Wilmer now left in the V top 30.
And, of course, WilmerHale already matched.
Of course their excuse will be that they do black box compensation and no bonuses because of their amazing culture…blah blah. But incoming associates need to know that they will be compensated at market when they begin AND that they will not fall behind as time marches on. The timing is perfect for them to just give everyone more money because their normally scheduled salary adjustments are July 1 anyway. Once those adjustments happen, the firm’s practice of silencing their associates regarding compensation (hey… ever heard of concerted activity?) will prevent associates from properly comparing and analyzing their compensation to determine whether they are being treated fairly.
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Well, our readers can help with that. The more intel we get from individual Jones Day associates — if a raise ever happens — the better we can provide an accurate picture of their overall salary structure.
Meanwhile, even though we generally feel around these parts that Dallas and Houston attorneys are getting the best of this deal, there are some Texas associates with a bone to pick:
Can you guys point out the fact that Haynes & Boone (Dallas-based, Am Law 100) has yet to match the new salary scale? PPP are over $900K/year and lower-ranked firms such as Locke Lord have already matched. In Texas, all of our peer firms have already matched (Baker Botts, V&E, Bracewell, Andrews Kurth, Locke Lord). We need some public pressure to get them to match the new salary scale.
Honestly, Haynes and Boone’s associates may be the most agitated. After Dechert, who eventually matched after we received a deluge of emails, I think we have more Haynes and Boone complaints than from any other firm.
Just wanted to remind you that Haynes Boone is also left, and a lot of us are following closely what’s happening — especially the NY office which matches market (and of which the firm routinely says that each office matches market for the market they are in …)
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Remember, Haynes and Boone associates were singing the firm’s praises after last year’s bonuses. Oh how the mighty have fallen. In fact, one tipster worries that shifting around compensation may be all that happens even if the firm matches:
Not to put the cart before the horse, but assuming we match, the real test will be bonus season where we will determine whether this is really a raise or just shifting compensation timing. I hope it’s the former, but suspect it will be the latter.
Then there’s Kasowitz Benson, which took the time to hold a meeting at least…
Radio silence from management here despite an all partner meeting yesterday.
Hopefully, they’re just working out the kinks.
Mega-firm Dentons is also lagging:
I feel like they’ve been able to avoid the public shaming as well because the recent merger with the Chinese firm took them off of the AmLaw list and thus off the radar in a sense. Have you guys heard anything that I haven’t? Correct me if I’m wrong, but at this point it seems that some of our peer firms have made the move. One would think they need to at least bump the NY associates’ pay…
Yes, one would think they’d need to do at least that. But buying 10,000-lawyer firms all over the world takes cold hard cash!
To the associates in this and other firms that still haven’t matched, we feel your pain (mostly).
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.
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.
