In our recent New York Times op-ed piece praising lavish signing bonuses for Supreme Court clerks, we wrote that the bonuses “are expected to reach $250,000 this year — paid on top of starting salaries approaching $200,000.” Some people have inquired into the factual basis for our statement. As it turns out, we did some […]
The nation's capital of corporate law pays associates quite well.
As federal borrowing caps tighten financing options for law students, one organization is stepping in to negotiate the terms they can't secure alone.
We’re beginning to wonder whether this “NY to 190” business is just a big practical joke. But even though no real information has emerged, and the co-chair of Simpson’s personnel committee told us his firm is “not currently considering an increase in associate salaries,” the rumors continue to swirl. Here are two email messages we’ve […]
The day that many of you have been waiting for has arrived. Today ATL goes to ATL: the fair city of Atlanta! Based on NALP forms and prior news articles, it seems that starting salaries in the Big Peach generally range from $130,000 and $145,000 (similar to Philadelphia). At $130K: Alston & Bird; Arnall Golden […]
Let the wailing and gnashing of teeth begin. The AmLaw 100 rankings — The American Lawyer’s closely watched, annual listing of the hundred largest law firms in the United States, ranked by revenue — are now available. We’ll have more to say on the rankings later. Their release is a big story, deserving of multiple […]
We didn’t receive this information from a verified source at the firm, so please treat it as unconfirmed. We’re going to fact-check this information “blog-style”: we’re going to throw it out there, then wait for somebody to tell us it’s wrong (or to confirm it). Anyway, here it is, from an email from an anonymous […]
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Wow. Late Friday afternoon, we briefly discussed an article by D.C. bar president James J. Sandman, a partner at Arnold & Porter in Washington, bemoaning the recent associate pay raises. The article generated a strong reaction, judging from the avalanche of
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has raised associate base salaries across the board. For the most junior classes, the increase is $15,000. New associates arriving at the firm in the fall will now receive a starting salary of $160,000, instead of $145,000. (You saw the memorandum here first, people — less than ten minutes after it […]
This item, from yesterday’s WSJ Law Blog, caught our eye: As the 11th Vioxx trial got underway yesterday in federal court in New Orleans, Merck disclosed in an SEC filing that it’s giving its general counsel Kenneth Frazier a raise and a promotion, effective Nov. 1. The GC who will forever be associated with the […]
In response to our recent request for information about academic salaries, a number of you reminded us that the salaries of many professors at state law schools are already publicly available. We had a vague recollection of this, but were too lazy to dig up links. Thankfully, a number of you did that for us. […]
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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 […]
In light of the recent debut of Skaddenfreude, ATL’s column chronicling attorney compensation, it’s a neat coincidence that the New York Times has an entire article discussing compensation for first-year associates at major law firms. We’ll get to that article in just a second. First, though, a brief amendment to our prior Skaddenfreude request. We […]