Associates Left Pondering The Meaning Of 'Good Standing' When Bonuses Disappoint

This is why lockstep is best.

Those of you with libertarian leanings may scoff at the notion of lockstep bonuses. After all, how can the Biglaw firm really appreciate how you’re a special snowflake if you’re getting the same money as everyone else in your class? But for the rest of us, the transparency and predictability of lockstep bonuses is a good thing — a very good thing.

Take, for example, what’s going on in the New York and D.C. offices of Linklaters. The firm had announced a few weeks ago that they’d be paying associates in “good standing” individualized bonuses in line with the market standard. But when associates started getting their individualized bonus letters, what “good standing” actually meant was unclear to associates. As one tipster at the firm notes, the feeling is that bonuses were pretty arbitrary:

The good standing metrics seem like they are being enforced arbitrarily and there has been no transparency about how much each metric affects your bonus. Many high-billing associates got bonuses docked for not submitting their time under 1.8 days (even though the firm switched over to a new timekeeping software earlier this year that has been frequently buggy), while less busy associates got full bonuses even if they didn’t meet other metrics (like 100 pro bono hours).

If there’s one thing I know from my years of working at Above the Law, when there’s a lack of transparency about something as important as money, discontent is sure to follow:

With the firm announcing a 25% increase in PPP, this feels like a slap in the face to those associates who were too busy billing to submit their time under the 1.8 day limit. I can tell you that morale in the office is not great.

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headshotKathryn 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).

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