Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Money

Powerhouse Compensation Leader Raises Salaries For All U.S. Associates

The firm that started the salary raise movement is making history, again.

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nationwide pay raise biglaw associate base salary starting salary increase money bonusBack in 1999, one incredibly daring law firm laid the groundwork for associate salaries to soar. This firm made huge waves when it offered new associates a starting salary of $125,000 — significantly higher than the $100,000 that was standard at the time. The pay raise soon spread to firms across the country, and nothing has ever been the same since.

The firm we’re speaking about is Silicon Valley powerhouse Gunderson Dettmer, a gutsy institution that could very well be referred to as the O.G. of Biglaw salary raises. Today, the Silicon Valley-based firm is matching the Cravath base salary raise across all of its offices. With other offices in Ann Arbor, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and San Diego, Gunderson will improve associates’ wealth across the country.

Here’s an excerpt from Gunderson’s salary raise memo, sent by chairman and founding partner Robert V. Gunderson Jr.:

As most of you know, the firm has long been a leader in the area of Associate compensation. On behalf of the Partners, we are delighted to announce these increases and we thank you for your extraordinary efforts in providing clients with outstanding service as well as in helping us build the pre-eminent firm in the markets in which we operate.

Gunderson’s salary raise is being applied to summer associates currently working at the firm, while compensation for more senior associates will be communicated separately. As we mentioned previously, we will be discussing compensation for senior associates and counsel in a future post. (It should also be noted that the firm’s Ann Arbor office was not included in the firmwide email to associates announcing the salary raise. Perhaps this was a clerical error, or perhaps since the office was opened in September 2015, there aren’t any associates working there yet to take advantage of these salary raises.)

Congratulations to everyone at Gunderson Dettmer! You’re joining three large firms and three boutiques who’ve already made history. It’s time to celebrate!

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.

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(Flip to the next page for the full Gunderson Dettmer pay raise memo, from chairman and founding partner Robert V. Gunderson Jr.)

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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