Killing Lockstep
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Associate Salaries, Howrey LLP, Killing Lockstep
Will Law Firms Follow Howrey's Profit Diminishing Lead?
Last June, we reported that Howrey decided to make a big change to the law firm business model. The firm cut first year starting salaries to $100,000. In exchange, the first year program would involve a heavy emphasis on training. Associate billables would be capped at 700 hours and Howrey reduced the rates charged to […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Layoffs
A Peek Inside the Winston & Strawn Black BoxAnd additional info on stealth layoffs.
Life outside of lockstep is like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: you never know what you’re going to get. A lockstep system for compensating and promoting associates has its drawbacks, to be sure. But at least it offers the virtues of transparency and predictability. Earlier this week, we covered the arguably amorphous definition of “merit” […] - Sponsored
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Killing Lockstep
What Does 'Merit' Mean at WilmerHale?
Back in December, WilmerHale announced that it was moving away from lockstep associate compensation. The plan will be phased in through 2012, but at the time of the announcement, WilmerHale gave precious little information about how the firm would determine which associates were meritorious and deserving of advancement. At the time, I wrote: Many lawyers […]
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Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep
DLA Piper Ends Experiment With Low Salaries
Back in December, DLA Piper decided to move to a merit based compensation system. Attendant to that move, the firms instituted a 10% pay cut, dropping starting salaries to $145,000. Despite widespread outrage among DLA associates, the firm repeatedly defended the move. Other Biglaw firms that moved away from lockstep would not follow DLA down […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Salary Freeze
Nationwide Salary Watch: Morgan Lewis Raises Salaries
We have good news for Morgan, Lewis & Bockius associates. Salary information is in and most people are getting raises. True-up raises at that. The class of 2008 pulled the short straw, but everybody else seems relatively happy. A tipster reports: Please post that yesterday MLB essentially unfroze salaries (most ’08 grades only went up […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Sonnenschein
Sonnenschein's New Compensation Potpourri Starts to Take Shape
Back in December, Sonnenschein announced the outlines of its new merit-based compensation structure. At the time, the firm promised its associates more details in March. The firm is true to its word: we’re now in March, and we have more details. Above the Law talked with a spokesperson for Sonnenschein. Here’s the top line news: […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Biglaw, Bonuses, Killing Lockstep, Money
Inside the Bingham McCutchen Bonus
When you step into the killing lockstep zone, your bonus disappears into a black box. A while back, we reported that Bingham McCutchen adopted a lockstep-merit hybrid approach to associate compensation. Base salary would still be lockstep, but the bonus would be merit-based. When we reported on the Bingham bonus, we noted that the firm […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Salary Cuts, Salary Freeze
Winston & Strawn Kills Lockstep and Adopts a 'Black Box' Compensation System
Friday brought good news and bad news for Winston & Strawn associates. The good news is that the double salary freeze, which has apparently resulted in first- through third-year associates at Winston all earning $160,000, may be thawing. Managing partner Thomas Fitzgerald sent a memo — this time to its intended recipients — indicating that […] - Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Killing Lockstep
Associate Bonus Watch: Orrick, A Case Study in Merit-Based Bonus Payments
A number of firms have adopted a merit-based pay structure, and other firms claim they want to. But few firms have thought through how to make a merit-based structure work as much as Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has. And nobody is addressing the new scheme with quite as much transparency. Orrick sent around its merit-based […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Killing Lockstep, Money
Bingham McCutchen: Lockstep Base Pay, Merit Bonuses -- It's a Hybrid Plan That Seems to be Working
Maybe Toyota should take a lesson from Bingham McCutchen: don’t try to cut corners when producing a hybrid. Back in October, Bingham announced that it would be adopting a new “merit-lockstep” hybrid approach to associate compensation. The plan came with the stamp of approval from Bingham partners and associates. And a majority of Above the […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Money, Salary Freeze
Pillsbury: Raises, Bonuses, and Other Sundries
It looks like Pillsbury is back to communicating important information via firm-wide memo, instead of via cell phone conversation on the Acela. Yesterday, the firm indicated that it is thinking about moving away from lockstep associate compensation, but it is not killing lockstep just yet. Instead, Pillsbury announced lockstep raises — they’ll be true up […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep
Foley & Lardner: New Salary Structure Leaves More Questions Than Answers
Late last week, Foley & Lardner released its new salary structure. Honestly, I can’t tell you what they’re doing. I’m a professional firm double-talk decoder, but trying to pull out key phrases from this memo made me feel like John Nash. The memo starts off similarly to other announcements from firms that want to move […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep, Salary Freeze
Associate Bonus Watch: Goodwin Matches, Thaws, Contemplates Moving Away From Lockstep
There’s a lot of news coming out of Goodwin Procter today. Some of it is even pretty good. In a wide-ranging, firm-wide memo, Goodwin announced bonuses (basically), thawed out salaries (kind of), and indicated an intention to adopt a merit-based compensation structure (sort of). Let’s start with the bonus news: Maybe you got a little […]
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Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
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Sponsored
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
The rise of remote work has dramatically reshaped the relationship between Lawyers and Law Firms, see how Scale LLP has taken the steps to get…
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Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep
Morgan Lewis: Details Still Sketchy on its Merit Based Compensation
Back in July, Morgan Lewis & Bockius became one of the first firms to announce that it was doing away with lockstep associate compensation. Sadly, MLB is still lagging behind other firms in explaining precisely what that change means for its associates. Morgan Lewis’s chairman, Francis M. Milone, sent out a firm-wide email to MLB […] -
Associate Salaries, Killing Lockstep
Drinker Biddle: Merit-Based Pay Means Cuts to 53% of Associates
It’s not surprising that Drinker Biddle is moving to a full merit-based pay scale. Back in May, we reported that Drinker Biddle decided to change the nature of the first-year associate experience. We reported that Drinker would turn its associates’ first six months at the firm into an intensive training period. During that time, first […] -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Killing Lockstep, Money, Salary Cuts
Dickstein Shapiro: New Salary Structure Leaves A Lot of Questions
Add Dickstein Shapiro to the list of firms that have decided to do away with lockstep associate compensation. As of January 22, Dickstein will adopt a new merit-based compensation system. Like many firms that have abandoned lockstep, Dickstein will be using a three-tiered system, similar to Orrick’s compensation structure. Starting salary for new Dickstein associates […] -
Killing Lockstep, Salary Cuts
McDermott Will & Emery: Another Firm Kills Lockstep, Cuts Pay
As we have discussed at length, it’s one thing to move to a merit-based compensation structure. Many associates will accept it. What really seems to bother people is when the firm kills lockstep and replaces it with a system that includes a significant salary cut. E.g., DLA Piper. Now, McDermott Will & Emery is poised […] -
Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Killing Lockstep
Open Thread: In Defense of Pure Lockstep
Over the course of 2009, we covered attempts from a number of firms to replace lockstep associate compensation with a “merit based” compensation system. We have seen firm after firm (and consultant after consultant) claim that clients really care about how law firms pay their associates. And who can disagree with a term like “merit?” […] -
Holland & Knight, Killing Lockstep
Holland & Knight Avoids Throwing Lockstep Baby Out with the Bathwater
Holland & Knight announced today that it would be moving away from lockstep associate compensation. But unlike the firms that have rushed to jump on the Orrick-style, three-tier “pure merit” model, Holland is adopting a hybrid approach. Here’s how Holland & Knight managing partner Steve Sonberg explained it to associates this morning: The base salary […] -
Killing Lockstep
Seyfarth Shaw Mystery Meeting Follow Up: Another Firm Moves to Kill Lockstep
Seyfarth Shaw held its firm wide meeting on Monday, and we (finally) know what went down. The top line news is that Seyfarth will be moving to a pure competency based associate compensation system. But it won’t be fully up and running until 2011. Seyfarth’s managing partner, Steve Poor, issued this statement to the firm […]