Associates Carting Off Tons Of Cash At This Biglaw Firm

Congratulations! Such happy news at this firm.

(Image via Getty)

Biglaw firm after Biglaw firm after Biglaw firm has been raising salaries to match the new market scale started by Davis Polk just last week. There’s a reason why these firms are so eager to increase their wages: the lateral market is insane right now, and keeping up with cash compensation is the number one way to retain and recruit associates. But it’s not just firms at the tippy top of the rankings that are upping their pay.

Yesterday afternoon, Kramer Levin — a firm ranked at No. 98 in the most recent Am Law 100, with $390,000,000 gross revenue in 2020 — announced that it would be meeting the new market standard. Co-managing partners Paul Schoeman and Howard Spilko had this to say about the firm’s money moves:

“Retaining and recruiting top talent is paramount to our ability to provide the highest levels of legal services to our clients. The salary increases recognize the valuable contributions of our associates and special counsel to the firm and our clients.”

Here’s what salaries will look like at the firm’s New York and Silicon Valley offices:

  • 2020: $205,000
  • 2019: $215,000
  • 2018: $240,000
  • 2017: $275,000
  • 2016: $305,000
  • 2015: $330,000
  • 2014: $350,000
  • 2013: $365,000
  • 2012: $375,000

Kramer Levin is one of the few firms that’s offering a salary bump up to $375K for ninth-year associates. We love to see it. Congratulations to everyone at the firm!

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Kramer Levin.)

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.


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