Not every Biglaw firm is created the same. At no time is that more apparent then during Biglaw raise season. The summer’s new associate compensation scale, that starts at $190,000 for first-year associates, was ushered in by Milbank, but not every big-time firm can match it.
Wiley Rein called an associate meeting where the managing partner announced that associates will not be getting raises. While there may be some small kindness in letting associates know not to hold their breath waiting for a raise that will never come, it still has to sting to know your firm can’t keep up with the Cravaths. Sources at the firm report that while there was an acknowledgement that this will obviously have an impact on the firm’s ability to recruit talented students out of law school and retain them once they’re at the firm, they’re not worried. As a tipster says:
Firm thinks everything will be fine since there’s plenty of law students out there.
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Well, if all you need are warm bodies with a J.D., the firm should have plenty of options. But folks at the firm seemed surprised at the candor of the announcement:
Was surprising that he would speak that way, since he must have known it would leak to Above the Law.
Yeah, that’ll happen. Especially when the lack of raises or bonuses has left the firm with, to quote a tipster, “a lot of angry associates.”
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.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).