Yesterday I described 2015 as “the year of atonement” for Biglaw bonuses. Firms that paid weak bonuses in 2014 are making up for it with strong bonuses in 2015 (while firms with nothing to apologize for — e.g., the Fab Five — are just holding last year’s line).
It seems that the Biglaw bonus apology tour has made its way to the Lone Star State. In the wake of bonuses last year that left associates “generally unhappy,” the international but Texas-centric firm of Haynes and Boone has upped the ante. From one tipster:
The Dallas office received bonus memos tonight, and I think a lot of people are still in disbelief. It looks like most people in the Dallas office over 2100-2200 hours received full NY bonuses! We already have it pretty good, so to receive this kind of bonus on top of it puts most of the higher billers are on cloud nine. The firm really stepped up after a poor bonus season last year, and this puts us above what other Texas firms like Vinson & Elkins offered last year, where you had to bill 2300-2400 in Texas to get the NY bonus. It’ll be interesting to see what those firms do for bonuses after this, but I can’t imagine it will top this.
‘Haynes & Boone’ and ‘compensation leader’ is something I never thought I’d type together before tonight.
— Thrilled Dallas midlevel
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Here’s a second source, more succinct:
HB Dallas bonuses are in. Appears to be full NY bonuses for those who billed above 2100, maybe 2150. Early reactions are extremely positive, appears to be a reaction to subpar bonuses last year.
One midlevel nearly fainted. Good job, HB!
Let’s add a few caveats to these bonuses that are making associates weak-kneed:
It is hard to confirm amounts for each class year (bonus letters are individualized without reference to other class years or other associates within your same class), but from anecdotal evidence, high billers are receiving Cravath scale bonuses. Haven’t heard from anyone who has not received a bonus, even those below 2000 received something, although those below 2000 received significantly less than the Cravath scale.
How much less? It’s not clear, but here’s some speculation:
[T]he cutoff seemed to be somewhere around 2100 to get NY scale. For people that were right under 2100, I’ve heard amounts anywhere from 50% to 75% of NY scale. There are also a handful of people saying that extremely high billers 2400+ received slight bumps ($5-10K) from the NY scale, but I haven’t been able to get anyone to confirm that with me directly.
There were some people who billed under 2000 who seemed a little unhappy once everyone started hearing about the huge bonus amounts this morning, but as far as I know most of them still received a small bonus. Even the new first years received a small bonus. I think across the board most people received 1.5-2x what they were expecting prior to the announcement, so the mood this morning was still exceedingly positive.
It sounds like Christmas cheer is spreading throughout the halls of Haynes and Boone — and not just because the firm is defending its title in the finals of our holiday card contest. Congrats on the bonus bucks, HayBoo associates!
P.S. Your move, V&E.
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Mixed Reactions At A Silicon Valley Powerhouse
Associate Bonus Watch: Baker & McKenzie, Hogan Lovells, Haynes And Boone
ATL Holiday Card Contest: The Finalists!