Ire Grows At Mid-Market Firms Failing To Match Their Peers
After peers offer raises, what's a firm to do?
Forget $180K! Some associates at mid-market firms are just hoping to see modest raises to reflect changing times.
When we reported on Husch Blackwell’s raises, it got some firms in the same neck of the woods wondering, “What about us?”
Sitting in an annual associates meeting now at Kansas City-based Shook, Hardy & Bacon. The elephant in the room is awkward. No acknowledgment or discussion whatsoever as to salary increases. Interesting that Husch Blackwell raised salaries (albeit modestly) today in many mid-market cities. Polsinelli already has. These have always been considered key competitors and are in relatively equal financial positions. Frustration building.
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Whichever partner decided to run an associate meeting right now without talking about compensation deserves hazard pay.
Again, it’s not about trying to match Cravath; as we mentioned earlier this month in discussing Shook Hardy, “it’s not reasonable to expect the Kansas City-based firm to adopt the full Cravath scale.” And it’s not about knee-jerk decisions to fling money around. It’s about keeping a firm in line with the market, and when the peer firms make changes, a firm has to join them — or recognize that they might not be the peer they thought they were.
Now we officially set the clock on Shook Hardy. Your move.
Keep us apprised of the compensation wars. 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.
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