Cooley Got The Bonus Party Started But Doesn't Sound Like They'll Be Following The Leader

Well, at least some money is better than none.

As one Cooley insider told Above the Law, “It was nice being the market leader for a day.”

So, what’s going on at the firm? If you remember way back to last week, Cooley started the COVID appreciation bonus game, offering associates between $2,500 and $7,500 as a special thank you from the firm for their hard work during the pandemic. But then Davis Polk got involved with a new standard, and it just blew away the Cooley scale. Their bonuses started at $7,500 and went all the way up to $40,000. And firms quickly started piling on this new bonus scale.

Though there was a notable outlier. Kirkland — the world’s richest law firmbegged off fall special bonuses, and seemed to be asking the market not to follow the trend.

All of which sets the backdrop for speculation at Cooley. Will the firm pony up the difference between their bonuses and the newly emerging market standard?

It doesn’t look like associates seeking extra cash are in luck. Tipsters report the message from the partnership is, “We’re not matching DPW, but we’re also not matching Kirkland.”

Here’s some perspective from inside the firm:

It’s a bummer, especially after hearing the update on the firm’s numbers. We’re apparently up 8% productivity YoY for August, and down only 1% from this point in the year in 2019 (but rapidly gaining ground after a brief lurch during the early COVID era). There was some reassurance that marketplace total compensation will be taken into account for year end bonuses, but that rings hollow considering Cooley pays individualized bonuses.

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We reached out to Cooley for comment, and will update the story if we hear back.

At least Cooley associates got some money — there’s a lot of Biglaw that’s still wondering if their firm will say thank you in the form of some cold, hard cash.

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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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