There seems to be a fair amount of good news coming out of Goodwin these days. This month, the firm fared well in the latest M&A league tables from Mergermarket — especially in private-equity deals, where the firm boasts a powerhouse practice. Last year, we covered Goodwin’s high-profile hiring of real-estate dealmaker Marc Lazar away from Ropes & Gray, Goodwin’s rival for preeminence in the Boston legal market.
All the good news has given rise to good bonuses. Goodwin announced its bonuses last week, and they were well received. As one source said, “People are happy. Compared to last year, now hitting the hours requirement pretty much guarantees you a market bonus, unless you have unsatisfactory performance reviews.”
Goodwin bonuses are individualized, but the bonus memo contains aggregated information about the 2017 bonus distribution, and this information supports our tipster’s observation. From the memo sent around by William Weiss, chair of Goodwin’s Attorney Review Committee (which we’ve posted in full on the next page):
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This year, 77% of associates are eligible to receive bonuses. Of those receiving bonuses, 35% will receive an amount greater than the amount listed for their class, 60% will receive their class amount, and 5% will receive less than their class amount.
For purposes of comparison, here’s the distribution info about the 2016 bonuses:
This year, over 68% of associates are receiving bonuses. Of those receiving bonuses, 40% will receive an amount greater than the amount listed for their class, 36% will receive their class amount, and 24% will receive less than their class amount.
So in the latest bonus cycle, more associates got bonuses — over three-quarters of them, compared to two-thirds from the prior cycle — and of the bonus-receiving associates, 95 percent received a market or above-market amount. That’s a very healthy uptick. Congratulations, Goodwin associates, on the nice news!
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Earlier:
- Associate Bonus Watch (2017): No News Is Good News
- Associate Bonus Watch (2016): Another Boston-Based Firm Matches Cravath
- Associate Bonus Watch (2015): Better Than Before (By A Bit)
(Flip to the next page to view the complete Goodwin Procter bonus memo.)