One thing the pandemic can’t stop is the need for high-end legal advice. As such, elite Biglaw firms are doing pretty well, and rather than just divvy up that money amongst the partners, the hot new trend is sharing that largesse with associates in the form of spring special bonuses.
Goodwin Procter is the latest Biglaw firm to jump on the spring bonus bandwagon. They’re making two payments to associates according to the following schedule:
| US/HK Class Year | UK/Lux
Class Year |
July 1 Payment | October 1 Payment | ||||
| Trainees | $1,500 | $2,500 | |||||
| NQ | $2,400 | $4,000 | |||||
| 2020 | 1 PQE | $4,500 | $7,500 | ||||
| 2019 | 2 PQE | $6,000 | $10,000 | ||||
| 2018 | 3 PQE | $12,000 | $20,000 | ||||
| 2017 | 4 PQE | $16,500 | $27,500 | ||||
| 2016 | 5 PQE | $19,500 | $32,500 | ||||
| 2015 | 6 PQE | $22,200 | $37,000 | ||||
| 2014+ | 7 PQE+ | $24,000 | $40,000 |
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They went with July and October disbursements, and larded up the later payment, but, those are just the details. The amount of money on the table remains the same as what peer firms are giving out (thank you Davis Polk for raising that bar) — provided you bill enough. The firm also clarified that to be eligible for these payments, associates must meet an annualized hours threshold of 1,850 hours.
But associates aren’t the only ones getting in on the bonus fun! In a separate announcement the firm declared special counsel would get bonuses, payable at 1,750 annualized hours, as follows:
| July 1 Payment | October 1 Payment | ||
| $24,000 | $40,000 |
And senior attorneys, also at the 1,750 mark, will get bonuses as follows:
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| July 1 Payment | October 1 Payment | ||
| $16,500 | $27,500 |
Department and discovery attorneys as well as science advisors and science law clerks will also get bonuses at the 1,750 annualized threshold:
| July 1 Payment | October 1 Payment | ||
| $4,500 | $7,500 |
All the announcements available on the next page.
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Kathryn 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).