I thought I was also getting a bonus…
The powers that be at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan have communicated their plans to deal with the new market reality brought on by a trio of Biglaw firms — Milbank, Simpson Thacher and Cravath. The firm has decided to raise base compensation for associates — but there are a ton of caveats.
As you can see from this email sent out by an associate representative (the compensation changes were communicated by the firm during an associate meeting), salaries in New York and D.C. are basically on par with the market. Miami associates get raises, but downgraded to an undisclosed level by the Miami market standard. And in Los Angeles, midlevel associates get kicked off the compensation grid for the murky waters of individualized compensation.
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But there are no special summer bonuses for associates.
Client reaction is cited as the primary reason the firm isn’t going to hand out mid-year bonuses, but the firm told associates that the lack of a summer bonus would be a factor in determining year-end bonuses. From a client’s perspective, it probably matters when you give employees a bonus as much as it matters how much they are… and whether billing rates increase to pay for the new expense.
Reaction from tipsters hasn’t been pretty:
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Associates are upset. This is a shortsighted move by firm management and speaks volumes about firm liquidity.
I guess the firm figures angry associates are a decent price to pay for happy clients.
UPDATE: Since the story was published, we’ve had other tipsters at the firm reach out and tell us they don’t really care about the money, and they’ve put their trust in the firm to make it right with year end bonuses:
Associates here generally see the bigger picture and aren’t solely motivated by the financial aspects. Also note that they said that end of year bonuses have a discretionary/merit component, so many of us expect that we will still be treated fairly overall, hence the lack of outrage. Whoever submitted the news isn’t in the majority here. The overall mood today has been one of gratitude.
Someone’s not in Biglaw for the money? Wonders never cease.
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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).