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Some Good Bonus News... But Are Associates Here Still Making $180K?!?

Bonuses are nice, but we need to get this salary stuff squared away.

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Morgan Lewis didn’t want its associates going home for the weekend (oh, who are we kidding, “coming into the office this weekend”) not knowing where they stand bonus-wise. So that’s why they announced a full Cravath match for associates meeting the 1900-hour threshold.

That’s the good news. There’s no memo — Morgan Lewis gives out bonus news over voicemail — but as a reminder, that means folks are getting paid:

2018 $15K prorated
2017 $15K
2016 $25K
2015 $50K
2014 $65K
2013 $80K
2012 $90K
2011 and earlier $100K

Now the bad news is… there are apparently still some associates making $180K here.

Yes, even after the summer of raises, some associates still aren’t feeling the love. We wrote about this phenomenon here, but basically, the firm told associates that their raises were contingent upon a nebulous formula that isn’t necessarily tied to an objective billables target. One would have assumed the firm had cleared this all up by now, but tipsters tell us there are still associates at the lower pay scale and are even unlikely to get bumped up to $200K when January rolls around.

Does this mean there are class of 2018 pups roaming the halls making more money than associates who’ve been there a year already? According to our sources, yes!

That’s ludicrous. At least there’s a nice bonus to help salve that wound.

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Assuming anyone in this salary group is even eligible for the bonus….

UPDATE: Morgan Lewis tells me that there’s more to this than meets the eye. According to the firm, this policy for associates who don’t meet the firm’s performance standards is a long-standing policy designed specifically to avoid the less desirable outcome of terminating associates.

Where many firms might push — gently or more firmly — an associate out after an unsatisfactory review, Morgan Lewis gives associates a six month, at least, opportunity to get back on track during which time the associate does not receive a raise or a bonus.

Why would a firm consider a policy like this? Quite frankly, because they trust their own instincts. If they hired an associate in the first place, they saw a young lawyer they wanted to work with and they want an opportunity to get the person up to speed.

It may be a bit unconventional to not have offered the summer cost of living adjustment — after all, the goal of the policy is to functionally hold associates back from advancing with their class, and the across the board raises weren’t about advancement but changing everyone’s base — but that’s why the firm has this curious situation with a handful of first years making less than the going first year salary.

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior 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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