Paul Weiss Won’t Be Offering Fall Bonuses, And Associates Are ANGRY

PAUL WEISS — MEMO — 2020 BONUS TIMING

Dear Associates and Counsel:

I hope you and your loved ones continue to be safe and well.

The past year has been uniquely challenging and unimaginably daunting as we have all adjusted to the reality of working remotely in the midst of a global pandemic, a racial justice crisis and unprecedented political unrest.  So many of you have needed to overcome significant personal and professional challenges during this turbulent time as well.  And we all continue to grapple with the searing loss of two beloved colleagues, David Sicular and Andrew Perrin.

In spite of these stresses, you have performed heroically on behalf of our clients and in support of our community.  I have been overwhelmed by your extraordinary dedication, your peerless talent and your commitment to improving our world and the lives of its most vulnerable members.  I have never been more proud of our firm and our values.  So many in the community count on us to do what is right and courageous in difficult, charged times like those we have been experiencing.  And we have come through time and again this year.

I would like to update you on two significant, related issues:

Special “Pandemic” Bonuses

Over the past couple of weeks, some of our peer firms have announced special “pandemic” bonuses, while others have announced that they would not pay such bonuses.  We have considered whether to distribute such bonuses, in advance of our regular year-end bonuses.  After consulting with the Associates Committee and our partners and after hearing from several of our clients, I have concluded that announcing such a bonus now would not be appropriate.  So many of our clients and others across our community are experiencing unprecedented economic trauma, including the shuttering of their businesses and the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs, as a direct result of this pandemic.  Providing a special cash reward in direct response to the pandemic does not feel right at this time.  That said, please be assured that we will recognize your extraordinary contributions in December and we pledge to retain our position as a market leader in compensation, taking into account any special bonuses paid by our peer firms.  In addition, we believe it is very important this year to recognize and reward our extraordinary staff, whose heroic efforts during this pandemic have allowed the firm to remain fully operational and have enabled all of us to do our jobs and to serve our clients and communities seamlessly and without interruption.

Our Remote Working Environment

After more than six months of working remotely, we have learned many lessons and believe now is a good time to assess our remote work environment and to develop best practices.  We are proud of the fact that we pivoted immediately and seamlessly to fully remote operations, but we recognize that the remote environment carries with it particular challenges: collaboration, connection, and real-time feedback and training require special effort to match an in-person work environment.

For this reason, in conjunction with our Associates Committee, we have formed a special task force to develop best practices for working in a remote environment.  The members of the Remote Working Task Force are:

REDACTED

We encourage you to reach out to members of the Task Force to share your thoughts on how we can improve the remote working environment and develop best practices.

I will be holding a Town Hall next week for all associates and counsel to discuss these and other issues and to address any questions you may have.

Thank you again for all you are doing for our firm, our clients and our communities.  Your efforts are deeply appreciated by all.

Brad

Brad S. Karp | Chairman
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

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Staci 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.