BIGLAW SUMMER BONUSES HAVE ARRIVED
The first bonuses of the year... or maybe the last bonuses of last year.
The summer blockbuster season is upon us, and while it may be gray and dismal in New York today, the world of Biglaw is about to heat up with the first announcement of summer bonuses.
Last year, after Milbank kicked off the first wave of salary movement, firms started sweetening their matches with an extra bonus to brighten the summer for associates. We wondered at the time whether or not this would become a routine practice around Biglaw or if this was just another one-off to add to the crazy summer of 2018. As it turns out we’re still wondering, but this move certainly complicates the industry comp picture.
The firm handing out bonuses is Perkins Coie, a firm that most wouldn’t expect to be the first mover in this space and that’s because — in a sense — they are the last mover. When we reached out, they provided the following statement:
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“Earlier this week, Perkins Coie announced that we will pay special, mid-year bonuses to eligible associates and counsel in all our offices. The bonuses will range in size up to $25,000 based on office and seniority.
Last summer, when other firms announced associate salary increases and special summer bonuses, we increased our compensation in most offices and earlier this year we increased compensation in two additional offices. We did not pay the special bonuses last summer given our broad geographic footprint and diversity of markets, but we continued to consider the issue. We recently decided to pay bonuses to eligible associates and counsel across our 16 U.S. offices as a “catch-up” for the bonuses they might have received last summer.”
So this is probably correctly styled as the summer bonus the firm didn’t offer last year, making this bonus payout functionally Perkins Coie finally making the pot good. Except, even if this is a catch-up, could some Biglaw behemoth already toying with summer bonuses use this news as a signal that it’s time to pull the trigger and assert itself as the new market leader?
No doubt there are some partner meetings coming up. Could this be an agenda item? We’ll be paying close attention over the coming weeks.
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Joe 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. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.
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