West Coast Firm Goes Over The Top On Bonuses!

Exciting news out of California.

In a world of copycats, kudos to the one willing to strike out on their own. Irell & Manella decided to get creative, as IP powerhouses are wont to do, and went outside the box when it announced that it would join the seasonal bonus game on Friday.

And by “outside,” we mean more. A hefty amount more.

Rather than just distribute a scale, Irell’s announcement depends on their associates to do a little math, which the hard IP eggheads there are more than happy to do. To that end, the spring bonus will be a function of the associate’s base salary. So what does that mean? Well, first, here’s a reminder of the salary scale at Irell:

  • 1st Year: $190,000
  • 2nd Year: $200,000
  • 3rd Year: $220,000
  • 4th Year: $250,000
  • 5th Year: $275,000
  • 6th Year: $295,000
  • 7th Year: $315,000
  • 8th Year: $330,000

The spring bonuses will be 10 percent of the associate’s base salary. A little back of the envelope accounting and that means, associates are looking at spring bonuses well in excess of the standard, backloaded spring bonus. Here’s what Irell is eyeing with a reminder of how much that beats the backloaded payout:

  • 1st Year: $19,000 (+$14,500)
  • 2nd Year: $20,000 (+$14,000)
  • 3rd Year: $22,000 (+$10,000)
  • 4th Year: $25,000 (+$8,500)
  • 5th Year: $27,000 (+$7,500)
  • 6th Year: $29,000 (+$6,800)
  • 7th Year: $31,500 (+$7,500)
  • 8th Year: $33,000 (+$9,000)

That’s all well and good, but what about the tail end of the backloaded effort? That’s where the standard model catches up quite a bit. Friday’s announcement also addressed the fall bonus schedule and Irell announced that they’d be mirroring last year’s fall bonuses. As a reminder those were

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  • 1st Year: $7,500
  • 2nd Year: $10,000
  • 3rd Year: $20,000
  • 4th Year: $27,500
  • 5th Year: $32,500
  • 6th Year: $37,000
  • 7th Year: $40,000
  • 8th Year: $40,000

Which generally tracks the fall payouts for people backloading! So Irell associates are getting the same fall bonuses as most other firms, but with an extra $7,500-$14,500 depending on class year getting deposited in the spring.

Congrats, everyone!

Check out the memo on the next page.

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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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.