Biglaw

Global Giant Finally Raises Salaries Across The U.S.

Nine domestic markets are about to see an infusion of associate cash.

By Joe Patrice on June 20, 2018

Earlier this morning, we took a jab at Baker McKenzie for still dithering in the face of a clear market trend toward the $190K scale that Milbank kicked off at the beginning of June. While it’s entirely possible that the 4600+ attorney megafirm had already sorted out their anticipated raises and planned to roll out this news toward the end of the day, we think it’s much more likely that North Americas Managing Partner Colin Murray read our story and whipped up these raises over the last few hours.

In any event, we can now remove Baker McKenzie from our “Am Law 50 Salary MIA” list. The firm announced a match of the complete scale, as set forth by Cravath, as well as a summer bonus matching the Simpson bonuses. Baker McKenzie requires associates to have racked up 1000+ hours over the first six months to get the bonus, but the firm has the wisdom to recognize that some associates bill more on the tail end of the year, and commits to paying out the summer bonus at the end of the year — in addition to any holiday bonus — for associates who ultimately make their 2000+ hour requirement.

Baker McKenzie has nine offices in the United States — Chicago, Dallas, Houston, LA, Miami, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, and Washington — and all of them will be receiving this raise. Chalk another one up for the lucky stiffs in Dallas making the equivalent of $480K/year (give or take) relative to their NY counterparts.

The great salary frenzy rolls on.

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] Matches Milbank”). 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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Earlier: Attorneys Are Fleeing Norton Rose, So Telling Everyone They’re ‘Evaluating’ Raises Doesn’t Exactly Inspire Confidence

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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