Chicago-Based Biglaw Giant Gives Raises To All U.S. Associates
All U.S. offices will be getting a raise!
UPDATE (6/8/16 6:52 p.m.): And not just the U.S. associates. At least the New York-based foreign associates seem to be getting raises too.
Call them out and they will respond! Just earlier today, I wondered exactly when Kirkland & Ellis would announce they would match the newly-minted Cravath compensation scale. See there’s been talk, lots of it, that K & E was going to match, but we just hadn’t seen the memo.
Of course coordinating a pay increase across six U.S. offices must involve a lot of red tape and number crunching, so making an announcement that your firm is matching a little more than two days after the scale was unveiled to the world isn’t bad. They may not have shattered the market, as per their tradition in the realm of bonuses, but making a quick move to the new market standard shows they are really one of the big dogs. And it should be noted this Chicago-founded Biglaw powerhouse has indeed raised the salary for all associates in their U.S. offices.
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You’ll note the Kirkland scale is only set through the class of 2010, while most firms have established raises through the class of 2008 or 2007. This is likely because of Kirkland’s “non-share partners,” a designation they liberally use, bestowing the “partner” title upon lawyers at earlier stages of their careers than at other firms. We, as of yet, have no information about any changes to compensation for K&E’s non-equity partners.
There has been some unease about whether the good fortune for New York associates would also be shared by those in other U.S. offices. Covington & Burling went out a limb, telling their non-New York associates not to expect a raise, but it looks like the market may be heading another direction. Winston & Strawn, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Milbank, Irell & Manella and others are all with Kirkland, making it rain outside of the Big Apple.
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.
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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).
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Happy Lawyers, Better Results The Key To Thriving In Tough Times
