Just last month, Dorsey managing partner Bill Stoeri announced that mid-level on up associates in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Denver would get between a $10,000 to $15,000 raise. Which, while nice for them, left associates in major markets with nothing and the firm off the DPW scale entirely.
But life comes at you fast in Biglaw.
After Faegre Drinker Biddle announced raises of their own (though below the market standard for mid-to-senior associates) Dorsey… felt they had to respond. But rather than just let associates wonder as the bureaucracy of the Biglaw firm churned out some response to the competition, the firm is including associates in the discussion.
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In another email to associates (available in full on the next page), Stoeri reveals that yes, the firm is likely to respond to the market raises with a compensation boost of their own. But the details are not currently set in stone: what are the hour requirements? What does the bonus program look like? Is it lockstep? What hours (pro bono, D&I, etc.) get included in the calculation? So, the firm will be hosting a town hall to get associates involved in charting the firm’s (compensation) future.
Biglaw isn’t known for its openness and transparency. How nice that the firm is taking a step in that direction (and that they’re likely to give associates raises to boot).
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, the host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. 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).