Associate Bonus Watch: Another Cravath Match, But This Time, Associates Who Did More Got 'More' Money

Which firm is paying more bonus bucks to high billers?

onDecember 10, 2015 at 12:16 PMDecember 10, 2015 at 9:02 PM

Another day, another Cravath match. Biglaw firms continue to fall all over themselves in the haste to match this year’s bonus scale (which happens to be the same as last year’s bonus scale). Won’t anyone give these hard-working associates some more cold hard cash?

It looks like at least one law firm is willing to dig deeper into its pockets to compensate those who worked a bit harder than their peers. Ropes & Gray announced its bonuses this morning for the classes of 2015, 2014, and 2013, of $15,000 (prorated), $15,000, and $25,000, respectively. In the firm’s memo, however, chairman R. Bradford Malt and managing partner David C. Chapin explained that bonus amounts would be increased for some. Here’s the relevant passage (the full memo is on the next page):

As you know, we have an activity target of at least 1,900 billable and pro bono hours to be eligible for a bonus. This year, we have again increased bonuses from the above scale for associates who worked substantially more than the targeted amount, maintained bonuses for some associates who worked less than the target, and decreased rather than eliminated bonuses for many other associates who worked less than the target. We have also adjusted bonuses in unusual circumstances where an associate’s performance review is substantially above or below our expectations. Our career associates and London associates are compensated in accordance with their respective markets, so their compensation will be different.

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Congratulations to you if you’re an associate who managed to squeeze some more money out of Ropes & Gray. But how much more is the firm actually willing to pay out?

A source we spoke to told us that the firm’s increased bonus amounts were “a joke.” The firm offered higher bonuses for bigger billers last year, and it reportedly caused an uproar internally. Our source explains: “If you billed 2100 as a third-year you got an additional $1,500 (roughly). Do the math on the hourly breakdown and it’s sad. It’s definitely not worth 200 more hours of your time. Because of this, most people are trying to stay right around 1900 hours.” Yikes. Associates don’t seem particularly pleased.

Another tipster said a Cravath match was expected, but not much more, and that “everyone is still holding out hope that DPW will swoop in with a higher midlevel amount.” Join the club! Everyone is holding out hope for a DPW bump.

But what about more-senior associates? For that group, the R&G memo says, “For more senior associates, bonuses will, as always, be determined and communicated individually. These bonuses will reflect personal contributions, assessed on both qualitative and quantitative bases, as well as prevailing market compensation.” What is the firm actually paying its more-senior classes? If you can enlighten us as to what older associates will receive, please email us or text us (646-820-8477).