Biglaw

Billion-Dollar Biglaw Firm Ponies Up Special Bonuses For Hardworking Associates

Saying thank you with cold hard cash.

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The Biglaw bonus bandwagon is really picking up steam! The latest firm to spread the wealth to associates in the form of special bonuses is Reed Smith — which took the 26th spot on the 2020 Am Law rankings with over a billion dollars in gross revenue.

In an all associates call this morning, firm leadership announced they’d be paying associates bonus on the market scale set last month by Davis Polk. The bonus amounts will range from $12,000 to $64,000, depending on class year. In order to qualify for the bonuses, associates have to bill 50 hours over the standard annualized billable hours requirements (which translates to 1950 hours, but insiders say pro bono and other non-client hours count towards the total). The bonuses will be paid in two installments, June and December (40 percent of the payment in the first payment, 60 percent in the second), and associates will have the opportunity to get a catch up payment if they make up their hours in the back half of the year. And, these special bonuses are in addition to any annual bonuses.

And tipsters at the firm seem pleased with the firm’s bonus news:

Associates are absolutely thrilled. This is a very pleasant surprise!

Sandy Thomas, Global Managing Partner of the firm, noted the bonuses were really a sign of appreciation for associates:

“These special bonuses for our associates are consistent with the firm’s core values – rewarding excellence, driving performance and teamwork, and delivering impactful results for our clients and our firm. We continue to deliver for our clients in a challenging environment, and this is just one of many things we are doing to ensure that our associates know how much we value their commitment and contributions.”

Casey Ryan, Global Head of Legal Personnel, echoed that sentiment:

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“Our lawyers are our greatest asset, and we rely heavily on our associates every day to produce the excellent work that results in the exemplary client service we provide. Since we have gone to remote work, we’ve seen our associates putting in more hours and working harder; this special bonus program is an important way to reward that commitment, and this is the right time to do it.”

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.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts, 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.

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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