Every associate — and there are a tons of you out there — that’s about to receive a raise or special bonus owes a debt of gratitude to the powers that be at Milbank, as well as the early adopters of the new associate compensation scale. They were instrumental in getting firms to consider upping the base salaries and creating the momentum for change.
Unfortunately (for them), the raises they first announced are no longer at the top of the compensation heap. So, what’s a firm that’s trying to be an industry leader to do?
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Well, we have updates from three different early movers trying to figure out what to do about Simpson Thacher (via special bonuses) and Cravath (via bumps for senior associates) beating them at their own game.
First up: Milbank. The firm announced today they were meeting the increased Cravath scale PLUS they are giving all associates in good standing special summer bonuses in accordance with the prevailing market rate (ranging from $5,000 – $25,000, depending on seniority).
Next up are two boutiques that were quick to match the now outdated Milbank scale. Both Selendy & Gay and Hueston Hennigan have announced they are meeting the more generous Cravath scale. No word (so far) about special bonuses.
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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And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks!
(Read the full memo from the firms on the next page.)
Kathryn Rubino is an 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).