Associate Bonus Watch: A Giant Law Firm Exceeds Its Associates' Expectations
Law firm bonus news may be slowing down, but one big player just announced.
DLA Piper sent out its bonus and compensation memos Wednesday night, finally taking one of the last big players off the “still waiting on bonuses” board here at ATL HQ.[1] The third highest grossing firm in last year’s Am Law rankings — and the third best Biglaw brand according to in-house counsel — doesn’t announce their scale, but initial reports suggest the firm met or exceeded the established market bonus for the vast majority of associates.
One Chicago associate explained:
Everyone I’ve talked to in Chicago got at least a market match (if they hit 2,000); many did a little better (if they were over 2,150). No idea what the other offices were like.
We don’t get a bonus scale in the email, but it did say that “the vast majority of our high performing associates will receive bonuses at or above the widely published ‘market’ scale.”
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This is a big deal because DLA Piper hasn’t been known for their overwhelming generosity in the past:
It’s been the common understanding among associates that DLA pays bonuses that are sub-market (unless you bill an extraordinary number of hours). Not so this year — they really stepped it up, and it seems from discussions with others that their bonuses are at or above market for everyone in all offices. So long as you hit your 2000 hours (which counts all pro bono), they paid out. Associates are universally pleased, and a bit shocked. Kudos to DLA for stepping it up this year… associates who were going to shop around are starting to think twice.
Bonuses will be paid next Friday. That should help all these associates continue to bankroll Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
And if there’s any DLA Piper associate named Maddi, Hillary expects to hear from you right now.
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[1] Actually, we don’t have a big board. It would be really cool if we did — like something out of Dr. Strangelove maybe — but I’m sure we’d need a sponsor to step up to build that.
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