The New York salary scale for Biglaw firms seems to be set at $190,000 for entry-level attorneys, but people forget that there are respected midsize firms still competing for some of the same talent — with the promise of a bit of work-life balance to boot. These firms raise salaries too.
Enter Olshan Frome Wolosky, a firm that boosted its first-year salaries to $170K in 2016 when everyone else was falling over themselves to match the $180K scale, whether they could afford to do so or not. Two years later, the firm is doing the same thing, offering up a raise that’s $10,000 below the new Biglaw starting salary.
This is what the New York standard salary scale morphed into this summer:
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- Class of 2017: $190,000
- Class of 2016: $200,000
- Class of 2015: $220,000
- Class of 2014: $255,000
- Class of 2013: $280,000
- Class of 2012: $305,000
- Class of 2011: $325,000
- Class of 2010: $340,000
But this is what the new Olshan salary scale looks like:
- Class of 2017: $180,000
- Class of 2016: $195,000
- Class of 2015: $210,000
- Class of 2014: $230,000
- Class of 2013: $245,000
- Class of 2012: $260,000
- Class of 2011: $275,000
- Class of 2010: $290,000
Considering the fact that the firm’s starting salary was $150K just two years ago, that’s not half bad. Olshan isn’t doling out summer bonuses, but who could complain when first-year salaries have increased by 20 percent in such a short time?
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Summer associates at the firm will be reaping the benefits of this raise as well. Congratulations to everyone at Olshan.
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(Flip to the next page to see Olshan’s raise memo in full.)
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.