Biglaw

The Biglaw Raises Continue, And This Time, They're Going Global

Congratulations on the good news!

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Back in 1999, one daring law firm laid the groundwork for associate salaries to soar. This firm made huge waves when it offered new associates a starting salary of $125,000 — significantly higher than the $100,000 that was standard at the time. The pay raise soon spread to firms across the country, and nothing has ever been the same since.

The firm we’re speaking about is Silicon Valley powerhouse Gunderson Dettmer, and on Friday night, David T. Young, managing partner of the Silicon Valley-based firm, notified associates that the firm would be matching new Davis Polk salary scale for associates. Here’s Gunderson’s spirit-lifting note:

[W]e thank you for your extraordinary efforts to provide clients with outstanding service and to help us build the preeminent firm in the markets in which we operate.

With other offices in Ann Arbor, Austin, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and San Diego, Gunderson is spreading wealth across the country for its associates. The firm is also adjusting salaries for those located in its Singapore office, so the wealth is going global. (The only people who are being left out are associates in the Beijing office. Maybe that could change? The last time the firm raised salaries in 2018, only U.S. associates got the nod.)

This is what the new $205K salary scale looks like at Gunderson:

  • 2021: $202,500
  • 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

Congratulations to all associates at Gunderson Dettmer!

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(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Gunderson Dettmer.)

We depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). 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 (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), 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.

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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