Biglaw

The First Biglaw Firm To Match The New Associate Raises

Is $190,000 the new Biglaw normal?

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California litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan was the very first firm to match the new $190,000 scale, but it takes Biglaw firms longer to make these decisions. It took a day, but the top of the Biglaw world has responded to the Milbank raises announced yesterday with raises of their own. Proskauer has just announced (via an associate town hall, a full memo will be forthcoming this afternoon) it will be matching the new compensation scale, meaning associates at the firm can now expect raises in the range of $10,000 – $15,000, depending on class year.

For those who haven’t memorized it yet, the new market scale is as follows:

Classes 2018/2017: $190,000
Class 2016: $200,000
Class 2015: $220,000
Class 2014: $250,000
Class 2013: $275,000
Class 2012: $295,000
Class 2011: $315,000
Class 2010: $330,000

UPDATE 6/5/2018 4:48 p.m.: The Proskauer memo is out! The offices getting the raises are: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and D.C. And, yes, summer associates also get to share in the largesse.

Milbank’s surprise salary raise is predicted to draw a clear line between the haves and have nots of Biglaw. Though the 2016 salary bump, spearheaded by Cravath, led to near universal adoption of a new market scale, there’s a lot more financial pressure on the bottom have of the Am Law 200. For this set of raises, many are predicting firms will be a lot more careful before they get on board, and it may even lead to a bifurcated market. Oh, the horror of not every Biglaw associate making the same amount of money that awaits us all.

But for now, the associates at Proskauer can rejoice. Their firm is safely on the top side of the compensation mountain.

Remember everyone, 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] Matches Milbank”). 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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headshotKathryn 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).

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