Leading Biglaw Firm That First Refused Special Bonuses Includes Them With Their Cravath Match
Another law firm shows they have the cash to keep up.
When Baker McKenzie first announced bonuses nearly two weeks ago, it raised some brows, but was otherwise met with dead silence. The rest of Biglaw was patiently waiting for Cravath to give Baker’s bonus scale credence, and now that the perrenial compensation leader has done just that, the bonus floodgates have opened.
The latest firm to announce bonuses is Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton. Moments ago, the firm sent out a memo matching not just year-end bonuses, but special bonuses as well. If you recall, in mid-October, Cleary initially refused to match the generous Davis Polk special bonuses, which one associate referred to as a cringeworthy punch to the nether regions.
Here’s the bonus scale, in case you’ve forgotten what it looks like:
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Bonuses at Cleary will be paid on December 22. Congrats to everyone at the firm!
(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Cleary Gottlieb.)
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
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And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for all of your help!
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.
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