Associates Miffed Over Fine Print On Special Bonuses

With enough client billable hours, you too can get the money your peers are making.

The good news is that Jenner & Block has finally gotten on board with special bonuses to thank associates for their hard work during the pandemic.

And you see, on the surface it may seem like a typical bonus announcement. After all, the bonus numbers (set out below) are the same standard set by Davis Polk all those weeks ago.

But according to tipsters at the firm, the full memo (available in full on the next page) sets out some pretty stiff billing requirements. Specifically, associates have to be on track to bill 2,000 hours (make-up payments are available at Jenner) and the kicker is that pro bono and other non-client work won’t be counted towards the hours.

As a particularly salty insider shared with Above the Law:

Jenner & Block just issued a memo re special bonuses. Only given out if you are on track to meet 2,000 true billable hours – no consideration of pro bono or firm-directed work.

People are pissed. The firm talks big talk about how important pro bono is and how much they value it as well as business development hours, but will never put their money where their mouth is. Indeed just three weeks ago the firm released “guidance for associates regarding non-billable hours” setting forth all the non billable work associates should prioritize, and yet it’s entirely ignored in bonus time. We hoped after a year that the new managing partners would’ve addressed this recurring hypocrisy, but alas it’s just the same old same old. Don’t come to Jenner if compensation is a priority for you.

Please help us help you when it comes to bonus news at other firms. As soon as your firm’s bonus memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus”) or text us (646-820-8477). 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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headshotKathryn 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).

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