Biglaw

Which Firm Just Gave Its First-Years A $20,000 Raise?

Shots fired in the latest associate salary war! Will other firms take up the call to arms?

By Joe Patrice on October 09, 2015 12:00 pm

The guns of the associate salary wars had fallen silent for some time. While worthwhile bonuses returned to the market last year, base salaries remained stagnant. Honestly, the “NY to 190” slogan seems like a distant memory now. But all is not lost across the country, because some markets are still reevaluating their salaries and offering some welcome news in advance of the holidays.

We got a tip the other day from a concerned Seattle citizen:

News of our coffee-soaked and plaid-clad town may not travel east too often, but we are hearing faint rumors that our market is (finally) seeing some upward associate salary adjustments. According to unnamed sources, which may or may not have been overheard discussing the issue while waiting in line for Starbucks, last week Perkins Coie raised salaries across the board in Seattle for all associate years by up to $20,000. This raise supposedly includes the incoming first year class…. At this point, all we are hearing is rumors, and nothing has been published or leaked.

We gladly took up the invitation to dig deeper and, well, good news Wannabe Portland: after hanging around $125K for a while, Perkins Coie raised first-year salaries in both its Seattle and Bellevue offices to $145K. Per the firm, this adjustment was part of “a broader effort to attract and retain the best talent.” Indeed.

What remains to be seen is if Perkins Coie is an outlier or if the firm has fired the opening salvo in another salary war. Its peer firms in the Northwest now have to choose between joining in to make it rain (Seattle pun!) or take a major recruiting hit. The ball’s in your court, Davis Wright Termaine.

Congrats to Perkins Coie’s Washingtonian associates on their good fortune and to Perkins Coie itself for recognizing that Seattle salaries were no longer in line with the realities of working in the area and needed a little upward adjustment. Maybe now those associates can afford their apartments.

Earlier: Nationwide Pay Raise Watch: Philadelphia To $160K (This Time For Real)