Will Wilmer Match? Yes... And They Just Did
Every match sends a signal.
Inevitably, whenever we’re in the depths of bonus season, there will be some reader who complains that all we talk about are bonuses. Where’s the funny story about some lawyer suspended for trying to bill out his dog as a paralegal? Isn’t there some trenchant commentary about a recent Supreme Court hearing that you can ignore in lieu of pointing out that Clarence Thomas still thinks Nebraska is a top-flight football program? To some extent, we are still writing those stories, they’re just buried under the deluge of bonus announcements. But if some slip by or get posted a day late, it’s because bonus news really is that important.
And these bonuses aren’t just a Biglaw story. The instant gratification of an announcement may inure only to the benefit of those associates, but it shapes the whole industry landscape. It might keep Biglaw associates from lateraling. Or it might encourage mid-levels to make that final loan payment and declare themselves open to lower-paying opportunities. It will trickle down to smaller firms trying to keep one standard of deviation behind the pack. In-house packages will change. The government will see turnover. It’s not an exaggeration to say that some firm is going to miss the boat on these bonuses and permanently mark themselves as sub-elite, while another will keep pace only to dissolve in a couple of years.
So, yes, we’re going to have to talk a lot about bonuses, because they’re not just paychecks. They’re symbolic of a whole lot more.
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With that said, WilmerHale has matched the Davis Polk bonus scale. It’s backloaded with a May 25 and a September 25 payout. We don’t have a memo but this is basically what that looks like:
| May | Sept. | Total | |
| Class of 2020 | $4,500 | $7,500 | $12,000 |
| Class of 2019 | $6,000 | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| Class of 2018 | $12,000 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| Class of 2017 | $16,500 | $27,500 | $44,000 |
| Class of 2016 | $19,500 | $32,500 | $52,000 |
| Class of 2015 | $22,200 | $37,000 | $59,200 |
| Class of 2014+ | $24,000 | $40,000 | $64,000 |
One tipster reports of the bonus:
People are stoked – we knew the firm would match but thought that, in classic Wilmer fashion, we’d do it at the end of the rush when the firm would have to pay all the money but get none of the good will.
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And that’s the whole thing, isn’t it? What do bonus announcements signal to the world? This far into the cycle, they really do indicate that a firm is a solid player but unwilling to stick its neck out. And that’s information that lawyers and clients can use.
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.
Joe 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.
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