Associate Bonus Watch
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Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Did Kirkland & Ellis Already Promise to Blow Cravath's Bonuses Out of the Water?
The happiness emanating from the offices of Biglaw partners is palpable. Cravath paid a 2009 bonus despite a stronger 2010, and lowballing associates means more money for partners. Partners are giving anonymous quotes expressing their happiness. Skadden whipped off its Cravath-matching bonus memo so quickly it looked like a damn blog post. And, predictably, consultants […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Cheapness, Money, Partner Issues, Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day: Partners Have a Lot To Be Thankful For
Oh, thank God. — an anonymous law firm partner, upon learning of Cravath’s 2010 bonus announcement. - Sponsored
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm. -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Associate Salaries, Biglaw, Bonuses, Cheapness, Holy Crap, Money
Cravath Bonuses Are Out: The 2010 Bonus Season Is Under Way!
We’ve had to wait a long time for this announcement. Last year, Cravath kicked off bonus season on November 2nd. This year, bonus news took longer to arrive. Was it worth the wait? Cravath just announced its bonuses, this afternoon. So, what are the Cravath year-end bonuses looking like for 2010?
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Killing Lockstep
Morgan Lewis: Anticipates Large Bonus Pool and Not Moving Towards Merit-Based Compensation
Morgan Lewis & Bockius associates: your long nightmare might be at an end. All the way back in July of 2009, MLB became one of the first firms to announce its intention to do away with lockstep compensation. Back then, the firm was still in the teeth of the recession, it had canceled its 2010 […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2010, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Jones Day Prepares for Bonus Season By Telling Staff They'll Get Nothing
Until Cravath proves me wrong, I’m going to keep on believing that associate bonuses will be better this year than last. But this early indication from the notoriously secretive firm of Jones Day doesn’t bode well for my prediction. Today Jones Day communicated to its administrative staff that it wouldn’t be paying them a bonus […] -
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 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, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Hughes Hubbard Issues True-Up Raises, Above Market Bonuses (If You Hit Your Hours)
Are we breaking the back of the recession? Today, we have news that Hughes Hubbard is making raises that put will put its associates back to pre-salary freeze levels. Here’s the salary information from the firm-wide memo: ANNUAL SALARIES In recognition of those efforts, we will be implementing raises in annual salaries in all offices […] - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Biglaw, Bonuses, Kasowitz Benson, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Kasowitz Benson
We’re still catching up on associate bonus news. There have been some memos we’ve missed, including some from last month (technically, last year). If we haven’t reported on your firm’s bonus announcement, please email us. Don’t assume that one of your colleagues will submit the memo; that’s not necessarily the case. Today we belatedly bring […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Irell & Manella Pays Twice S&C
Congratulations to the associates at Irell & Manella. The firm announced its 2009 bonuses last week, and they were good — very good. Irell took the Sullivan & Cromwell bonus scale, which is effectively “market” for the top New York firms, and then DOUBLED IT. There was no memo — the information was communicated in […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2009, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money
Associate Bonus Watch: Wachtell Lipton Bonuses Go Down Again
Last year, associate bonuses at Wachtell Lipton dipped below 100 percent of base salary, for the first time since 2005. This year, they continued their downward slide. But given the problems plaguing both the broader economy and the legal profession, bonuses didn’t go down by as much as many WLRK associates expected. The general reaction […] -
Associate Bonus Watch 2008, Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Skaddenfreude
Associate Bonus Watch: Cravath Offers Less Than Skadden
If you work at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, prepare to be very, very angry. From the bonus memo just issued by presiding partner Evan Chesler: Both 2006 and 2007 were extraordinary years for our Firm. In 2006 we paid large year-end bonuses to our associates, and in 2007 we further supplemented those bonuses. As a […] -
Biglaw, Bonuses, Money, Nauseating Things, Practice Pointers, Shameless Plugs
Associate Bonus Watch: Wachtell Lipton Windfalls
Ah yes, the legendary bonuses of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Tout le monde wants to know: So, just how big were they? Very big (and bigger than yours). We can’t give up specific numbers for specific classes, because that might get our sources in trouble (and WLRK is a pretty small firm). But we’ll […]
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Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
In this CLE-eligible webinar, we’ll explore the most common accounting pitfalls and how to avoid them for your firm.
Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use.
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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…
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The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms.
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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Biglaw, Bonuses, Martin Lipton, Nauseating Things, Skaddenfreude
Skaddenfreude: Wachtell Lipton's 'Midyear Bonuses'
This just in: Earlier this month, M&A powerhouse Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, & Katz bestowed generous “mid-year bonuses” upon its associates. The dough was distributed “without prejudice” to Wachtell Lipton’s legendary year-end bonuses, which in recent years have come in anywhere between 40 to 80 percent of an associate’s base salary. (WLRK’s base salaries are already […]