Biglaw

By Any Metric, These Firms Really Should Have Raised Associate Compensation By Now

Behold: the Biglaw list of shame!

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Ever since Milbank shocked the Biglaw world on June 4th by raising associates salaries, the rest of Biglaw has been wondering, when’s my turn?

A good chunk of the top of the Biglaw ranks have already moved base associate compensation (often with special bonuses) to match the prevailing standard. This raise cycle, firms have been slower than in 2016 to grant their associates raises, but by and large, the best of Biglaw seems to be getting in line.

Which makes the firms that haven’t bumped associate salary stand out even more.

Below we’ve compiled a list of the notable absences from our list of firms that have raised salaries. These firms are among the best of the best — over a billion in revenue, Top 50 in profitability or Top 50 in Profits Per Partner — that are leaving their associates hanging. While many speculate that market forces will force them to raise by the time of on-campus recruiting (lest they fall behind in that area), as of today, associates are left wondering: Where’s my money?

Firms With Over $1 Billion In Gross Revenue With No Associate Raises

DLA $2,634,094,000 (announced raises 6/26)
Norton Rose $1,958,000,000 (announced raises 6/29)
Greenberg Traurig $1,477,180,000
King & Spalding $1,138,540,000 (announced raises 6/28)
Wilmer $1,137,300,000 (announced raises 7/2)
Reed Smith $1,119,239,000
Paul Hastings $1,118,100,000 (announced raises 6/27)
Morrison & Foerster $1,062,700,000 (announced raises 6/26)
Squire Patton $1,000,044,000

Top 50 Firms By Profitability Index With No Associate Raises

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12 Boies Schiller
18 DLA (announced raises 6/26)
21 (tie) King & Spalding (announced raises 6/28)
23 Cadwalader (announced raises 6/28)
26 (tie) Greenberg Traurig
31 Lewis Brisbois
32 (tie) Alston & Bird (announced raises 6/29)
36 Fragomen
40 (tie) McDermott (announced raises 6/26)
40 (tie) Wachtell (worth noting, they were already paying above the old market but have not moved to reassert their dominance)
43 (tie) Baker Botts (announced raises 6/25)
43 (tie) O’Melveny (announced raises 6/25)
47 (tie) Holland & Knight
47 (tie) Sheppard Mullin (announced raises 7/3)
49 Katten
50 (tie) K&L Gates

Top 50 Firms By Profits Per Partner With No Associate Raises

1 Wachtell (again, already above the old market)
13 Boies Schiller
19 Paul Hastings (announced raises 6/27)
22 King & Spalding (announced raises 6/28)
24 Cadwalader (announced raises 6/28)
36 Wilmer (announced raises 7/2)
38 O’Melveny (announced raises 6/25)
39 Fragomen
40 Alston & Bird (announced raises 6/29)
42 Baker Botts (announced raises 6/25)
43 DLA (announced raises 6/26)
44 Morrison & Foerster(announced raises 6/26)
45 McDermott (announced raises 6/26)
46 Sheppard Mullin (announced raises 7/3)
47 Greenberg Traurig
48 Fish & Richardson
49 Williams & Connolly (also already above the old market)

Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Raises Salaries”). 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.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a senior editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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