Biglaw Firm Finally Gets In On The Special Bonus Action
Associates will cash in -- if they bill enough.
Biglaw’s move to thank associates for their hard work during a pandemic/ploy to keep associates bound by golden handcuffs is continuing. Yet another Biglaw firm is giving associates special bonuses, provided, of course, that they bill enough.
Steptoe & Johnson, which made $393,914,000 in gross revenue lat year, making it 97th in the AmLaw 100, has just announced special bonuses. The firm will match the market standard set back in March by Davis Polk, but there’s a slight catch. In order to be eligible for the special bonuses, “associates must be at 100% of budget, based on billable work alone.”
Eligible associates will receive bonuses according to the following schedule:
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| Level | July | December | Total |
| 1 | $4,500 | $7,500 | $12,000 |
| 2 | $6,000 | $10,000 | $16,000 |
| 3 | $12,000 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 4 | $16,000 | $28,000 | $44,000 |
| 5 | $19,000 | $33,000 | $52,000 |
| 6 | $22,200 | $37,000 | $59,200 |
| 7+ | $24,000 | $40,000 | $64,000 |
They went with July/December disbursements, which is a bit later than the June/September dates some firms are rolling with, but, most importantly, the amount of money remains the same. The firm also clarified, like so many other firms, that this will be in addition to the regular year-end bonuses.
Additionally, the firm noted that if an associate does not meet the hours requirement for the July bonus payment (the threshold is not disclosed in the email, it’s expected it’ll be in line with the firm’s usual hours requirements), they’ll have an opportunity to garner a make-up payment along with the December bonus.
You can read the firm’s full announcement on the next page.
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Kathryn 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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