Associate Bonus Watch: Yet Another Firm Is Beating Cravath On Bonuses!
Maybe you're working at the wrong firm...
Which firm is making it rain for associates?
The Cravath compensation scale isn’t just for Biglaw firms. Elite litigation boutiques are more than happy to show their associates the money, as was proven during this summer’s race to match the $180K base salary scale. As we march into bonus season, we’ve already seen two boutique firms that have either matched or exceeded market compensation.
Today, we’ve received word on yet another boutique firm that will be paying bountiful bonuses to its associates — bonuses that will not only exceed the Cravath scale, but will come in addition to generous mid-year bonuses that associates received this past spring. Which firm is making it rain for associates this holiday season?
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It’s none other than Greenberg Gross, a firm that’s only been in business for a handful of years, but has still managed to attract star litigators, open a new headquarters, match the $180K salary scale, and attain tremendously successful results for clients, all at the same time. Now, the firm’s associates are being handsomely rewarded. Here’s the pertinent part of the memo associates received from managing partner Alan Greenberg today:
[A]s we move into the holiday season, I am excited to announce that the firm will gratefully acknowledge the dedication of its superb associates with a top-of-market bonus structure. In addition to the mid-year bonuses that associates received in April, associates in good standing will receive year-end bonuses that exceed the scale established last week by Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and other major law firms.
As you may have read, bonuses for Cravath associates will range from $15,000 for first year associates to $100,000 for the Class of 2009. Greenberg Gross associates in good standing will receive at least $5,000 more than the amount they would receive at Cravath. Associates who have performed above and beyond our high expectations will receive even more than that. Associates who joined the firm during 2016 will receive pro-rated bonuses. The associate bonuses will be paid on December 23.
Congratulations to everyone at Greenberg Gross! Way to stick it to the competition (which includes Hueston Hennigan and Irell & Manella, both firms we’ve yet to hear from as far as bonuses are concerned. Now that Greenberg Gross has announced bonuses, perhaps Hueston and Irell will be inspired to make a move).
That’s our take on associate bonuses from Greenberg Gross. If you’re a lawyer at the firm, what do you think? Feel free to let us know how you feel by email, by text message (646-820-8477), or by tweet (@ATLblog). A fun or insightful response — we’ll keep you anonymous — could find its way into an update to this story.
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As a little reminder, we love covering the Biglaw bonus season, but we need your help. As soon as your firm’s bonus memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus”). We always keep our sources on bonus stories anonymous. There’s no need to send the memo using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. Please be sure to include the memo as proof; we like to post complete bonus memos as a service to our readers. You can take a photo of the memo and attach as a picture if you are worried about metadata in a PDF or Word file. Thanks for your help.
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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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