We tried to gather information about the pay of special counsel and income partners last week, and while we’ve heard from a number of you, we thought the response may have been muted by the holiday week. So let’s try this again.
While associates are understandably giddy about their new raises, there’s another group of lawyers in the Biglaw ecosphere who are feeling more than a little left out. Whether the firm brands them Senior Counsel, Special Counsel, Of Counsel — the possibilities abound — the senior lawyers who make up that critical tier of senior experience just below the ranks of partners exist in a weird state of limbo that often gets overlooked, especially when it comes to money. Just this year, we heard about an elite Biglaw firm stiffing its counsel on bonuses. As you’d suspect, raises come with their own issues.
In 2016, we discovered some counsel put in the awkward position of earning less than the senior associates right below them. That’s the extreme case, of course, but many other counsel were left making just a peppercorn more than the top of the associate pay scale. Meanwhile, other firms offer counsel hefty paydays. So where are the firms in the wake of this round of raises?
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So far, very few memos even include counsel on the distribution, let alone explicitly mention counsel compensation. But we have every reason to believe that there are counsel at more than one firm who now are making less than the senior associates staffing their matters.
We want to hear as much as we can from you about counsel compensation. We understand that, at some firms, counsel are such a rare breed that it’s impossible to tip us without giving oneself away, but if a tipster has any insights that they can share, please do so. We’ll compile this information to better inform the market.
So if you’re a counsel (or any firm citizen concerned about the counsel) and have some insight to share — either a raise or no action — please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “Counsel Pay”) to let us know.
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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.