Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Raises Salaries And Has A Surprising Message About Increasing Productivity

Well, that's a curveball.

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Now that McDermott Will & Emery and the collapse of the taxi medallion market have apparently converged to bleed Michael Cohen dry, the firm has dropped him as a client and no longer has to worry about getting stiffed at the end of his long, winding criminal prosecution.

And they can use that extra confidence to pay some higher salaries and bonuses.

The firm informed all U.S. associates today that it will be increasing salaries in line with the prevailing market scale. Details of summer bonuses were not disclosed but the firm informed associates that they would receive details tomorrow.

While this is happy news, the memo appears to come with the warning that most firms only imply:

Compensation is, of course, just one piece of our broader approach to ensuring the strongest possible Associate cohort, and it must also be a corollary of being in the top tier of both productivity and excellence.

Uh-oh. With great compensation comes great responsibility, folks, and this sounds like a tougher push on billables.

And then… the memo takes a surprising turn.

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At our Associates’ Retreat, for example, we emphasized health-focused topics that help us grow, both personally and professionally, and be our best selves. To put our support into action, we will be introducing an hours credit for participation in a mindfulness program. We will send the specific details separately, but a growing body of research draws a clear line between mindfulness and overall wellbeing—reducing stress and anxiety, while improving productivity.

Wha? That is definitely NOT what we expected when we saw the message about improving productivity. Sounds like MWE is really committed to thinking outside the box.

(Full memo on the next page.)

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HeadshotJoe 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.

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