The most dangerous place in Biglaw is between an associate and his bonus. As we know here at Above the Law, after years of fielding complaints from angry associates, it’s not just about the money; it’s about the respect (or lack thereof). When you work as hard as so many associates, you want to feel that your employer appreciates you, your work, and your time.
So tongues definitely wagged over the lawsuit filed last year by Ryan Leonard against his former firm, Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, a more than century-old firm founded in Philadelphia that now boasts eight offices across four states. Leonard alleged that the firm used a system of “pro-rated credit” that had the effect of decreasing associate bonuses and increasing partner compensation.
The suit would have offered an interesting inside look at one firm’s billing and bonus practices — if it hadn’t just settled:
Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge John M. Younge entered a settlement order late Thursday afternoon in Leonard v. Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel. The order included a letter from the mediator, Judge A. Michael Snyder, which said he understood that the firm sent settlement documents to plaintiff Ryan Leonard, which would be executed “with minimal revision.”
Both Leonard and Obermayer Rebmann declined to comment on the settlement or its terms.
Obermayer Rebmann must be glad to put this bonus battle to bed. Regardless of what (if anything) the firm paid Leonard to go away, the lawsuit presumably wasn’t good for the firm from a publicity and recruiting standpoint.
Moral of the story for firms: give associates the benefit of the doubt come bonus time — or else.
Obermayer Settles Dispute Over Associate Billing, Bonuses [Legal Intelligencer]
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Earlier: Lawyer Accuses Former Firm Of Ripping Off Associates Through Creative Billing
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].