Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Announces Special Bonuses, But Takes A Different Approach Than The Rest Of The Market

Even high billers will wind up below market.

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Spring has sprung and special bonuses are all the rage in Biglaw. The latest firm to drop a bonus announcement is Dorsey & Whitney, ranked 96th on the Am Law 100 with $414,096,000 in gross revenue in 2020. And, they’ve taken a very different approach to the extra cash.

Unlike most Biglaw firms, which have given out special bonuses ranging from $12,000 to $64,000 based on class year, payable across two separate paydays (which may or may not have a billable hours requirement attached to it), Dorsey has eschewed divvying up payments based on seniority. Instead, the firm is going on a strict billable hours basis, based on annualized client billable hours through April.

The special bonus schedule (which is in addition to any year end bonuses) is as follows:

·         Those annualizing at 1800-1899 will receive $2,500.

·         Those annualizing at 1900-1999 will receive $5,000.

·         Those annualizing at 2000-2199 will receive $10,000.

·         Those annualizing at 2200-2399 will receive $15,000.

·         Those annualizing at 2400 or above will receive $20,000.

The special bonuses will be paid in June 2021.

As you can see, the bonus range is… much smaller than the market bonuses going around, and the top bonus requires an awful lot of billable hours. But perhaps the billable hours requirement isn’t too much of a barrier. Managing Partner Bill Stoeri said in the announcement that the firm is looking to hire more associates to keep up with demand.

So, Dorsey associates: what do you think about the special bonuses? Feel free to sound off by email, by text message (646-820-8477), or by tweet (@ATLblog). A fun or insightful response — we’ll keep you anonymous — could find its way into an update to this story.

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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