Biglaw

Screw Cravath, What's Kirkland Going To Do?

Maybe Cravath doesn't represent the top of the market quite like it used to.

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Now that Cravath, the traditional ringleader when it comes to associate pay, has joined the associate raise train, matching the Milbank scale for juniors and exceeding it for mid-level and senior associates, the industry is left with a burning question: do we really care what Cravath does anymore?

As the Milbank raises have more or less sat there like the proverbial elephant in the room while the bulk of the market kept looking around at each other wondering if they should join in — or potentially go over the top — it once again drove home how reliant the industry is on one firm to make bold moves and set the tone for everyone else to sheepishly follow. An arbiter of all that is acceptable in compensation, even if they aren’t the first firm to move — that’s always been Cravath before.

This may come as a shock for all of us who’ve spent a decade hanging on Cravath’s every compensation memo, but it’s worth wondering if — perhaps — it’s outlived its leadership role. Considering the top firms as measured by any metric, and Cravath’s place should trigger the old Sesame Street jingle, “One of these things is not like the other.” As the rest of the elite have expanded into behemoths, Cravath is still a relatively small 500 or so attorneys. As the rest of the top-tier firms have opened offices around the globe, Cravath still sits on two locations. It’s time to wonder if Cravath — while undoubtedly still a premier firm — may not offer much insight to its peers because it simply doesn’t have that much in common with them anymore.

Take, for example, Cravath’s decision to up the ante for more senior associates. Are other firms as worried about losing mid-level talent? At its size, Cravath can’t afford losing too much of its senior talent to clients, but a firm like Latham could get raided and still have bodies to spare. Since Cravath doesn’t hire senior laterals the way other firms do, its not like their decision to pay more at that level presents a lateral risk for their peer firms. These are all issues unique to Cravath. While some may want to proclaim yesterday as the start of a new “Cravath scale,” it’s just as likely a footnote to the Milbank scale. The on-campus recruiting cycle is still marching to Milbank’s drum.

That’s why I’m more interested in what Kirkland’s going to do. Kirkland outpaces Cravath in every metric and more closely resembles the new normal among the Biglaw elite with 13 offices and almost 2000 attorneys. That’s who the rest of the top firms are recruiting against. Once we know what Kirkland and Latham and Skadden intend to do to keep ahead of the recruiting pack, that’s when we’ll see the market fall into line.

Will they consider breaking the $200K threshold? That’s certainly what everyone must be wondering. There was a day when Cravath’s adoption of the $190K first-year salary would immediately bring everyone into line. Maybe it will again.

But it’s as likely that the rest of the firms just took a long hard look at Cravath and wondered what Kirkland’s about to do.

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Earlier: Cravath Hath Spoken — And Beats Milbank For Senior Associates!
New York To $190K — No, Cravath Didn’t Make The First Move
Biglaw Giant Matches Associate Raises, PLUS Special Summer Bonuses!

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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