Small Law Firms

Litigation Firm Already Above Salary Scale Moves Even Further Up Salary Scale

High-powered boutique offers more money to its senior folks.

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In fairness, most lawyers will never get a chance to work for the most high-powered of high-powered boutique firms and even the elite Biglaw firms don’t register these boutiques as direct threats to their recruiting, making news of this raise more of a curiosity than news-you-can-use. Still, whenever a firm blows up the compensation scale this much, there’s no way to let it pass without comment.

Before delving into Kellogg Hansen’s raise announcement, it’s worth remembering exactly where they were. The firm, a haven for attorneys coming off multiple clerkships, already boasts a six-year partnership track and paid its associates on a “junior” and “senior” associate scale and then gilded the deal with massive bonuses.

In the wake of Biglaw’s run of raises, the firm just announced an overhaul of its previous scale. First- and second-year associates won’t see a change to their salary, but they were already pulling down a $225K base with a $175K signing bonus before their year-end bonuses. And if they happened to be a Supreme Court clerk, then there’s a much, much bigger signing bonus. But for the third- through sixth-year associates, who had been making a $275K base each year (with class differentiation on the bonus side), Kellogg Hansen is shaking it up and offering a whole new scale.

Now, each of those classes will be making a separate base salary, making the entire Kellogg Hansen scale to:

  • 1st Year: $225K
  • 2nd Year: $225K
  • 3rd Year: $285K
  • 4th Year: $310K
  • 5th Year: $335K
  • 6th Year: $345K

Congratulations to everyone at Kellogg Hansen!

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HeadshotJoe 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.

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