First-Years Get Raises... Everyone Else Gets A Warm Glass Of Confusion
FEBRUARY?!? They don't get the money until FEBRUARY?!?
Honestly, people. We all see right through these coy attempts to get off the “Biglaw Naughty List” by raising first-year salaries and then mumbling something about further evaluation of senior salaries.
Another firm joined that trend today, with Foley & Lardner trumpeting a move to $180K for the first-years in New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, and all of its California offices. Other offices will get a $20K raise on top of their current salary. But all those past their rookie season have no idea what’s happening. The firm’s memo says only:
We will distribute the full salary schedule effective February 1 for each office, including increases at all levels, later in the year.
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Ahem. “February 1”? And here we thought it was a cruel slight to make associates wait until September. February?!? Wow.
From a tipster:
Apparently they’re raising first year salaries 20k… and salaries for the other “tiers” and “levels” in Foley’s compensation system are not going to be announced until “later this year,” whenever that means.
I haven’t talked to others yet but my reaction as [a mid-level] is disappointment with the delayed implementation of an unknown raise.
Another is more blunt:
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All senior counsel and associates at Foley just got this email. Needless to say, everyone is pretty pissed. Not to mention the fact that I have never heard of an associate receiving a market-level bonus. There is no way associates won’t be leaving in droves.
When this tipster says they’ve “never heard of an associate receiving a market-level bonus,” they’re talking about Foley & Lardner’s curiously named “newly enhanced bonus program” (you can read about it here) that’s just a whole mess of vague, but seems to suggest one could work their tail off and still not get a market bonus. It appears that a lack of clarity is a tradition when it comes to associate compensation here.
The one thing all Foley & Lardner associates do know is that the minimum billables will be going up from 1850/year to 1900/year. That’s not too offensive considering anything below 2000/year seems low in the Biglaw world, but get this: the hours increase takes effect in November 2016. Bad form, folks. Synchronize those dates! It’s called quid pro quo.
Good luck, Foley & Lardner associates!
(The memo is available on the next page….)
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Remember, when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches Cravath”). 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.
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.
