Biglaw

The Biglaw Firm That Started The Latest Special Bonus Party Is Offering Bigger, Better Bonuses

This was worth the wait.

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Last Friday, one of the top-ranked Biglaw firms in the country started a trend that would rock the industry in terms of 2021 associate compensation.

Willkie — a firm that brought in $868,000,000 gross revenue in 2019, placing it at No. 49 on the latest Am Law 100 ranking — announced that it would be offering special bonuses to its associates for all of the hard work they put in during the especially trying times that were created by the pandemic. At the time, the firm’s bonuses ranged from $7,500 to $40,000, and associates were thrilled by the good news. Then, Davis Polk got involved and offered special bonuses that completely blew the Willkie numbers out of the water — and the rest of Biglaw followed, matching the new $12,000 to $64,000 range left and right.

Is the firm going to leave its associates hanging? Willkie has thus far remained silent on whether it will cover the difference. That is, until today. It’s been a week, and Willkie has now decided to speak up. Lo and behold, associates at the firm will now be receiving the special bonuses that have become the prevailing market rate. Check out the new Willkie bonus scale, below:

All those eligible for special bonuses at Willkie will receive half of the funds on June 30, and the other half on September 30. Congratulations to everyone at the firm!

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Willkie.)

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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Staci ZaretskyStaci 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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