Above the Law’s coverage of associate salary increases can lead people to wonder how anyone can possibly work for less than the $190K scale. Even though we’ve tried to push back in these pages and explain that some firms (and especially some markets) simply can’t compete with the most elite firms and that’s just fine. We want associates to get all the compensation they deserve and we have an acute understanding of how law school debt puts young lawyers behind the 8-ball, but keeping pace has side effects.
Steptoe & Johnson LLP has announced raises for the first and second years in its Washington, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago offices, matching the prevailing Milbank scale at those levels (and, we hear, giving an $8K raise in Phoenix). It’s not matching, at this point anyway, the scale as adjusted by Cravath — with higher salaries for more senior associates. In fact, the firm didn’t take a stand on raises for more senior associates, merely leaving open the possibility that they may see raises through the end-of-year individualized tier and salary decisions.
But tipsters from Steptoe seem… generally happy.
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Mid-levels and senior associates will probably receive increased headhunter activity but most of us love working here and know that we trade being a compensation leader for flexible hours, reasonable partners, and a low leverage ratio.
That’s what gets obscured in the mad dash of salary news. With great compensation comes great billable responsibility, and firms that pay the maximum expect the maximum out of their lawyers. And firms that reach to join the elite tier may find themselves expecting more than the maximum out of their lawyers. While there are firms that expect associates to work all hours of the day and night and still take home less, when a firm is willing to embrace some flexibility — it’s still hard work, mind you — for slightly less pay, that’s perfectly fine. When I made my own lateral move years ago, I knew I was trading about $10K/year for the privilege of routinely leaving the office between 7 and 9 instead of between 12 and 2. Not only is that acceptable, the market actually needs firms like that or talented lawyers will slip out of the profession because they just can’t handle round the clock availability.
Congratulations to Steptoe & Johnson on navigating the difficult waters of balancing salary and workload.
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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.