Biglaw Firm Bumps Salary To Attract And Retain The 'Best And Brightest Attorneys'
Well-deserved raises for associates at this Biglaw firm.
Well, Cooley gets it. Across all 10 of its U.S. offices, the firm has raised the base salary to the new “normal” — the Cravath scale. Some firms may try to resist moving over to the $180K scale, but all that really proves is they aren’t at the top of the game.
Cooley knows that, and in the email to associates laying out the new compensation scale they note, “success in our profession is wholly dependent upon attracting and retaining the best and brightest attorneys. Indeed, Cooley’s ascension into the ranks of the elite global law firms is a manifestation of our success in building a team of associates and special counsel of the truly highest caliber — a team that shares our vision and values and validates our core competencies day in and day out.” A little more flowery than other memos we’ve seen, but it sure makes the hardworking associates feel good.
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Indeed, the reaction has been positively gleeful from the Cooley associates we’ve heard from:
— Can’t believe we are doing this the same day as Kirkland and Skadden.
— Impressed that they matched this early — was expecting early next year. Looks like they are really trying to keep up with the market leaders. Very pleased.
— I’m pleasantly surprised that Cooley matched very early.
— Partying in the hallways has commenced.
— Woohoo!
And summer associates are getting their share of the love — in a separate email, they were informed they’d get a raise to $3,500 a week starting July 1.
Cooley’s Chief Executive Officer, Joe Conroy, also provided comment:
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Cooley provides the finest legal talent to its clients. We build and develop teams of lawyers who are among the best in our industry and are committed to compensating them competitively. Our clients have come to expect the best from us, and we will continue to deliver.
Enjoy your raises, Cooley associates — it looks like you deserve them.
We are covering this story as market conditions develop, so please drop us a line — text (646-820-8477) or email (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches Cravath”) — when you know of another firm making a compensation move. Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file. All sources are kept strictly confidential.
(The full Cooley memo is available on the next page.)
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
