Biglaw

International Biglaw Firm To Roll Back Salary Freeze, Hand Out Bonuses

In just a few months, salaries will go up and bonuses will be paid.

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Biglaw firms across the country have decided to partially or completely roll back their COVID-19 austerity measures, and this new trend has now been picked up across the pond.

Over in the United Kingdom, Kennedys — a UK top 50 firm that has one office in the U.S. and increased its gross revenue by 9 percent to reach a record £238 million ($312,313,358.00) in 2019 — deferred its performance-based salary increases and bonus payouts earlier this spring thanks to the coronavirus crisis. Staff members were supposed to have their salary reviews in May, while attorneys were supposed to have their salary reviews in September. Thankfully, the firm has decided to “press ahead and reward staff for their work.”

All employees at the firm, both lawyers and staff members, will have their salary reviews in November. Legal Week has additional details:

Nick Thomas, senior partner of Kennedys, said in a statement: “It gives me immense satisfaction and pride to lead a partnership which chooses to reward our staff during what is a challenging time for so many businesses. But the reality is that they’ve earned it and deserve it having demonstrated their ability to maintain productivity remotely, helped by our robust IT platforms.

“As a business we live and breathe by ‘doing the right thing’ for our people and our clients, and we will never lose sight of the fact that our success is down to our people.”

The firm continued in a statement that it would be honouring all staff bonus commitments this year, adding that they had not made any redundancies, pay cuts, or furloughing arrangements during the last few months.

Congratulations to everyone at the firm. Let’s hope more firms get on board with this salary restoration movement — and soon.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

Kennedys To Pay Out Salary Increases and Bonuses After COVID-19 Delay [Legal Week]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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