Fried Frank, that is. Sorry for the terrible pun, but there are only so many ways to write up a bonus announcement. And apologies if you’re getting tired of our stock photos of money.
These announcements haven’t been very surprising, but the Fried Frank announcement is especially unsurprising. It is fully consistent with the 2016 bonus policy that the firm unveiled in October 2015. The core of that policy: a “full” aka market bonus at 2000 hours (including up to 425 hours of certain non-billable work), and bonuses 15 to 30 percent above market at the 2200- and 2450-hour marks, respectively. We’ve posted the full memo, from chairman David Greenwald, on the next page.
Recite it together with me: when your firm’s bonus memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus”). We always keep our sources on bonus stories anonymous. There’s no need to send the memo using your firm email account; your personal email account is fine. Please be sure to include the memo as proof; we like to post complete bonus memos as a service to our readers. You can take a photo of the memo and attach as a picture if you are worried about metadata in a PDF or Word file. You can also text us if you prefer, at 646-820-8477.
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UPDATE (4:48 p.m.): A source at FFHSJ had this to add: “Hours vary by practice group. Not everybody can hit their goal. Law students should be aware that top-tier firms do not have an hours requirement.”
UPDATE (12/5/2016, 9:45 a.m.): A different source had this rebuttal:
Hey! Saw your Fried Frank update with the passive aggressiveness for law students. FF allows people to add a whopping 425 non-billables. Super-generous. Our corporate and real estate and tax groups barely need it, with averages around 1950-2000 and most associates going well over. Litigation whines because they bill 1400-1500 and can’t swing a bonus even with a 425 handicap. The group is a drain on the firm, and associates leaving at 4-5 p.m. want an extra up to $100k? Please. RE and Corporate earned their bonuses and are carrying Lit on their shoulders just like every other year.
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UPDATE (12/6/2016, 2:55 p.m.): Just to be clear, the 425 in non-billables mentioned above comes from up to 300 hours of pro bono and up to 125 hours of qualifying non-billable work. For all the details, see our prior post on the firm’s bonus policy.
(Flip to the next page for the full Fried Frank bonus memo.)
Earlier: Associate Bonus Watch: Fried Frank Announces A New Bonus Policy
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].