“Why haven’t we heard anything from Gibson Dunn? This is insulting.”
“You need to call out Gibson Dunn. Absurd!!!”
“Now that literally all of our peer firms have matched nationwide, associates at GDC are becoming irate.”
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“You need to shame Gibson Dunn into matching Cravath. We’ve had enough waiting.”
That’s just a smattering of what we’d heard from readers about Gibson Dunn. Considering the fact that the firm places just outside the Top 10 in Vault’s rankings, associates were pretty pissed off when they heard nothing but silence with regard to matching the now-prevailing $180K salary scale that’s been adopted throughout top-tier Biglaw firms. Don’t worry, associates, you needn’t be irate anymore.
Today, Gibson Dunn has finally decided to match the market. Kenneth Doran, the firm’s managing partner, said in an email addressed to all associates that this move was “[i]n keeping with our commitment to pay competitive compensation to our associates.” Gibson has matched the Cravath scale for all classes through 2008, and will be matching the Cravath scale for incoming associates in the class of 2016 as well. Associates in the following locations will receive a raise: Los Angeles, CA; Century City, CA; Orange County, CA; Palo Alto, CA; San Francisco, CA; New York, NY; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; and Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, there is no mention of how current summer associates’ compensation will be affected in the memo.
Congratulations to all Gibson Dunn associates! You finally got what you wanted!
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Remember, we are covering this trend extensively, 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.
(Flip to the next page for the full Gibson Dunn pay raise memo, from Kenneth Doran.)
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.