There are pay increases that will make associates jump for joy, and then there are pay increases that will make associates shrug their shoulders and go on about their merry way because the firm was already paying undermarket salaries to begin with and will still be undermarket even with the new raises. Last Friday, a Biglaw firm awarded the latter kind of pay increase to its associates.
Even though Arent Fox is matching the Milbank scale (not the Cravath scale) for first-, second-, and third-year associates with a $10,000 increase, and a $15,000 raise for all other class years, the increases keep the firm undermarket as far as compensation. One source claims that first-year salaries at the firm are now $170K.
For what it’s worth, Arent Fox isn’t handing out bonuses, either.
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“I haven’t heard many associates speaking about it openly at all,” another source said. “I have brought it up with a few friends and they were like — well that’s nice… so it seemed like folks are happy but not over the moon over it. It’s still undermarket and I know several associates have left the firm this year for firms that either pay more or to different firms in different markets where the cost of living is less.”
At the end of the day, money is money, and whether or not they’re acting like it, associates at Arent Fox have to at least be somewhat happy about the fact that their paychecks will be bigger. Congratulations on your newfound cash!
(Flip to the next page to read Arent Fox’s salary increase memo in full.)
Remember, we are covering this trend extensively, so please drop us a line — text (646-820-8477) or email (subject line: “[Firm Name] Raises Salaries”) — when you know of another firm making a compensation move. 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. All sources are kept confidential.
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.