As the clock winds down on June, those associates who still haven’t heard anything from their firms are preparing to Hulk out. We’ve been keeping a running tally of the firms with the best Am Law 100 numbers that have still held out on their associates. We feel your pain.
But one group of associates just got that extra kick in the genitals that’s driving associates mad.
In 2016, Katten Muchin matched in all its offices except Charlotte. Fair enough. Many of those offices probably didn’t warrant a full match, but what’s done is done. As we’ve said before, if a firm felt the 2016 match was appropriate, then they have to match today. It’s simply a cost of living adjustment. There’s no real excuse for holding out.
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On the cusp of July, not only has Katten Muchin not announced raises or bonuses, despite repeated inquiries from associates but then they pulled this.
Katten just sent out an email to all the attorneys in the firm — the sort of email that pops into your inbox and prompts you to grab your phone so you can grab the winning screenshot that will end up in Above the Law. And instead you find this:
Are. You. Kidding. Me?
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UPDATE: Amazingly, that’s NOT ALL. WilmerHale, who also hasn’t announced raises — they’re conducting upward evaluations right now — did the exact same thing on Monday:
A good rule of thumb for whichever staff offices were charged with quarterbacking these surveys: under no circumstances should anything be sent as a mass email to the associates during raise or bonus season unless it’s about money or the importance of cooperating with the FBI agents who just raided. As we can’t imagine any scenario where Katten (or WilmerHale) would face the latter issue, let’s just stick with not sending out anything during cash time.
And if you are going to breach this rule, definitely don’t do it to announce a survey that invites those attorneys to share their thoughts about firm culture because, I’m willing to wager, this doesn’t help the eventual feedback.
It’s still relatively early in the day, by Biglaw standard, and Katten may be planning to spring a nice little raise on everyone at happy hour. And if they do, they can slough this all off as their misguided attempt at a practical joke.
Maybe some associates will accept that excuse. I wouldn’t. Not cool.
Joe 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.