Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Raises Salaries For (Some) Associates, Offers Special Bonuses For All

Wonderful news!

By  
on

Biglaw has done well — really, really well — in spite of the ongoing pandemic. In fact, the largest law firms in America have done so well that many of them are in the process of handing out millions of dollars’ worth of special bonuses to their hardworking associates. But are there any firms that are willing to do more and increase salaries along with those bonuses?

The last time we saw a salary raise was in 2018, when the majority of Biglaw firms increased their base pay for associates to $190K. Earlier this spring, DLA Piper increased base pay for its associates in some offices, and we wondered whether others would follow in the firm’s footsteps, and now, it looks like that day has come.

Back in June 2018, Am Law’s #51 firm Alston & Bird — which brought in $835,865,000 gross revenue in 2019 — matched the prevailing market rate salaries for all of its major offices (New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Silicon Valley, and Dallas). More than a year later, associates in the firm’s Charlotte office received raises as well. Here’s what that salary scale looks like:

1st Year: $190,000
2nd Year: $200,000
3rd Year: $220,000
4th Year: $255,000
5th Year: $280,000
6th Year: $305,000
7th Year: $325,000

According to a recent report about the firm’s finances, both its revenue and profits increased in 2020, with December being the “busiest month in the firm’s history—exceeded only by work in January.” Now, Alston & Bird is quite literally sharing the wealth with associates outside of major markets in the form of salary increases, and across the nation in the form of special bonuses. (This is probably a good way for the firm to make up for skipping out on associate appreciation bonuses.)

Elizabeth Price, the firm’s chief legal talent partner, said of the raises, “This scale reflects current trends and recognizes that, as a top tanked Am Law firm with complex matters and sophisticated clients around the globe, our associates represent he best talent in our profession.” This is what the new salary scale and special bonuses look like at Alston & Bird (full memo available on the next page):

Sponsored

Base compensation changes will be effective as of June 1 and will appear in June 15 paychecks. Associates must bill an annualized 1950 hours to receive special bonuses, which will be paid out on June 30 and December 31.

Congratulations to everyone at the firm who just got a big raise, and congratulations to everyone who will be receiving special bonuses. Associates are truly happy at the firm, and this is something we absolutely love to see.

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Alston & Bird.)

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.

Sponsored

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 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.

1 2Next »
Bonus Time

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL's Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.

Topics

, , , , , ,