Over the weekend, a reader asked us to shine a light on the relatively slow pace of the Bay Area firms when it comes to matching the new salary normal. Not that it’d been entirely quiet on the Western Front, but the action was coming primarily from Bay Area firms with a national presence.
For those of us wondering if this would be the raise that would inspire firms outside of the hyper-competitive NY recruiting market to reconsider the mad dash to match top dollar, this delay raised some eyebrows. It’s one thing for the Dallas market to pump the brakes on salaries… but the Bay Area?
And now, it looks like the dam has finally broken out West. A bevy of California firms just matched, including San Francisco-based Keker. Everyone in the Golden State can resume their vigorous chillaxation.
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Tipsters report that Keker, the American Lawyer’s inaugural Litigation Boutique of the Year, will join the prevailing salary scale. UPDATE: For clarity, this means they are matching the salary scale but not paying the summer bonuses many are distributing.
It’s one more reminder that in a world where the gap between the haves and have-nots in Biglaw continues to grow, the high-powered boutiques are the big winners, capitalizing on the work clients don’t want to send to the Biglaw elite, but can’t bring themselves to take to a high-overhead, Biglaw mid-tier firm.
Congrats Keker associates. And congratulations to the rest of the Bay Area firms that have to feel like raises are finally on their way.
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] Raises Salaries”). 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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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.