SIDLEY AUSTIN — 2020 BONUS MEMO
| To: | All U.S. Associates |
| From: | The Management Committee |
| Re: | U.S. Associate Bonuses and Salary Increases |
| Date: | December 10, 2020 |
We and the rest of the partnership are grateful for your dedication and performance, which again have enabled us to provide the firm’s clients with the highest quality of professional service, and have contributed to the firm’s successes this year. We are pleased to be able to again acknowledge your contributions with annual bonuses and salary increases.
Your Definitive Resource On Decrypting Crypto, Digital Assets, And Web3
"Decrypting Crypto" is a go-to guide for understanding the technology and tools underlying Web3 and issues raised in the context of specific legal practice areas.
As is our custom, we have determined bonuses on an individual basis. Annual bonuses continue to be discretionary, and general eligibility criteria remain the same as in past years. Specifically, an associate needs to be in good standing and record 2,000 qualifying hours during the bonus year to be eligible for a full class year bonus. At least 1,800 of those hours must be a combination of client chargeable and legal services to the firm hours. The remaining 200 hours can be a combination of pro bono hours, and/or a maximum of 50 hours of qualifying knowledge management/practice development, and/or a maximum of 25 hours of qualifying observational training. Further, once an associate reaches 2,000 such hours, all additional qualifying hours are counted toward increased bonus eligibility.
This year, for those associates with 2,000 qualifying hours, we will also award a special one-time bonus to reflect the challenges of maintaining our paramount commitment to our clients following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Subject to the aforementioned considerations, we are pleased to announce the following general bonus amounts by class year.
| Class Year | 2020 Year-end Bonus | Special Bonus |
| 2012+ | $100,000 | $40,000 |
| 2013 | $100,000 | $40,000 |
| 2014 | $90,000 | $37,000 |
| 2015 | $80,000 | $32,500 |
| 2016 | $65,000 | $27,500 |
| 2017 | $50,000 | $20,000 |
| 2018 | $25,000 | $10,000 |
| 2019 | $15,000 | $7,500 |
Why Some Firms Are Leading The Market With Generative AI
A culture of innovation with strategic AI like Lexis+ AI is revolutionizing law firms by boosting efficiency and deepening client relationships.
As in prior years, associates with higher productivity and exceptional performance will be eligible to receive a bonus above the base amount. In addition, associates with lower productivity, but who are otherwise in good standing, will be eligible for partial bonuses.
Finally, we have made additional one-time adjustments to our overall approach to reflect considerations relevant to this unusual year, including removing the “cap” on certain hours in light of the significant substantive non-chargeable work undertaken by some of our associates in response to the pandemic.
We also are pleased to announce our general associate salary scale for 2021. Variations from this schedule may be made on a case-by-case basis.
| Class Year | 2021 Salary |
| 2012+ | $350,000+ |
| 2013 | $340,000 |
| 2014 | $325,000 |
| 2015 | $305,000 |
| 2016 | $280,000 |
| 2017 | $255,000 |
| 2018 | $220,000 |
| 2019 | $200,000 |
| 2020 | $190,000 |
Once again, we thank you for your contributions to making Sidley an extraordinary place to practice law. Best wishes for the holidays and for the New Year.
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.