Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Restores Pay Cuts -- Retroactively

For most of the firm's attorneys, there are no more salary cuts.

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Good news for associates at Hogan Lovells — a firm that took in $2,246,050,000 in gross revenue last year, making an impressive 8th on the latest Am Law 100 ranking — the COVID-19 salary cuts are a thing of the past.

Back in May, the Hogan Lovells announced a pu pu platter of salary cuts. Equity partners’ monthly draws were slashed by 15 to 25 percent, and they also deferred the payment of profits. Nonequity partners and highly compensated senior counsel and specialists got a 15 percent cut. While the rest of the counsel, associates, attorneys, specialists and knowledge lawyers saw a 10 percent cut.

Now, thanks to a “solid performance” over the summer, HoLove is reversing most of those salary cuts — and making the change retroactive to May, meaning a tidy little make-whole payment is on its way. So who is lucky enough to benefit from this retroactive salary change? Associates, counsel, attorneys, specialists, and knowledge lawyers in the U.S., Mexico and Brazil. As reported by Law.com, for the Asia-Pacific region, Dubai and the U.K., the salary reviews postponed from May will be scheduled, and any payments will be retroactive. As for 2020 bonuses, they’ll be made in the “normal course of business, applying the normal standards.”

Not everyone is seeing the benefits of the firm’s performance gains right away. Equity partners are still going to have draws and bonus payments reduced through 2020. And the cuts for nonequity partners and senior counsel will be reviewed later this year.

Hogan Lovells CEO Miguel Zaldivar made the following statement on the salary reversal:

Having looked carefully at our work over the summer, we have seen a solid performance and now is the time to start a step-by-step approach to reverse some of the prudent measures we implemented earlier this year around compensation. This is a strong testament to the work which we have all been doing under very challenging conditions and we are looking towards a continued solid performance through to the end of the year.

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries or restoring previous cuts, 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).

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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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