Time To Pay Up: These Am Law Top 50 Firms Haven’t Announced Raises Yet
These firms have the money -- they just haven't decided to spend it on associates yet.
It’s the beginning of the second full week of Biglaw’s summer 2021 salary wars, and while news about raises to the $205K salary scale continues at a rapid pace, dozens upon dozens of firms have remained completely silent. Why? The market (i.e., all of the firms that have matched the generous Davis Polk scale, including Cravath) has already spoken — very loudly, in fact. There aren’t any decisions left to be made… except, of course, whether or not your firm is planning to stiff associates.
Which firms in the Am Law 50 haven’t uttered a word (that we know of) to their associates about raises yet? Here’s a list of the firms that have yet to match (along with their most recent gross revenue, as of 2020). Do with it what you will, and please feel free to correct us if we’re wrong.
10. Jones Day: $2,226,424,000 (the firm is on a blackbox salary scale but first-years typically receive market salaries and we’ve yet to hear whether the firm has matched) (matched on 6/25 for first-years)
21: King & Spalding: $1,529,418,000 (the firm announced salary raises on a different scale in April) (matched on 6/24)
26. Reed Smith: $1,310,596,000 (matched on 6/28 for first-years; national payscale for all other class years to be announced on 7/7)
38. Holland & Knight: $1,044,337,000 (the firm announced salary raises on a different scale in May)
39. Squire Patton: $1,042,000,000 (sources say the firm doesn’t pay lockstep salaries)
40. K&L Gates: $1,019,674,000
41. Wachtell: $1,010,664,000 (associates at this firm don’t typically share information on their compensation; likely nothing to see here)
42. Perkins Coie: $1,001,498,000 (matched on 6/23)
46. Arnold & Porter: $961,900,000 (matched on 6/22)
47. Faegre Drinker: $937,037,000 (matched on 7/1 for first-year salaries in major markets, rest of scale compressed; other markets reduced salaries)
48. Foley & Lardner: $922,354,000 (matched on 7/1 for first- through third-years; all other class years merit-based, “comparable” to DPW scale)
49. Troutman Pepper: $918,010,000 (the firm announced salary raises on a different scale in April)
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Staci 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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