Biglaw

At Long Last Biglaw Giant Makes Its Compensation Move

Associates are thrilled they're getting their money.

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It was only Friday that Above the Law HQ received emails from desperate WilmerHale associates anxious over the firm’s radio silence on the important issue of associate compensation. One tipster characterized the mood at the firm as “open revolt.” And associates had every reason to be pissed. Peer firms were going around raising salaries and offering special summer bonuses while Wilmer — with its $1,137,300,000 in 2017 revenue and clocking in at #36 on the profits per partner rankings — stayed quiet about the monetary fate of its associates.

But the firm is silent no more.

Today the firm announced raises for its associates in accordance with the prevailing market scale — yes, they’re effective as of yesterday, July 1st, the same effective date most other Biglaw firms:

1st Year Associate: $190,000
2nd Year Associate: $200,000
3rd Year Associate: $220,000
4th Year Senior Associate: $255,000
5th Year Senior Associate: $280,000
6th Year Senior Associate: $305,000
1st Year Counsel: $325,000
2nd Year and Above Counsel: $340,000

And, not a firm to fall behind the pack in compensation, they are also providing special bonuses, provided associates are on track to hit the 2,000 hour billing requirement.

1st Year Associate: $5,000
2nd Year Associate: $7,500
3rd Year Associate: $10,000
4th Year Senior Associate: $15,000
5th Year Senior Associate: $20,000
6th Year Senior Associate: $25,000
1st Year Counsel: $25,000
2nd Year and Above Counsel: $25,000

If an associate fails to meet the billing target for the special bonus they’ll have the opportunity to earn that money if they hit their hours by the end of the year.

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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] 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.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks!

(Read the full memo from the firms on the next page.)

headshotKathryn Rubino is a senior 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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