Biglaw

Top 50 Biglaw Firm Matches DPW Scale... But Raises Won't Be Effective Until 2022

It'll be worth the wait, but some associates sure are pissed.

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July 1 has come and gone, and Biglaw associates across the country whose firms have matched are now eagerly awaiting their fat new paychecks on the $205K Davis Polk salary scale. Of course, we’ve seen some stragglers when it comes to matching the market, and by that, we mean that a few firms took their time sweet time and decided to announce their matches yesterday.

One firm that waited until the eleventh hour to match the new salary scale is really stretching its associates’ patience thin. Not only did partners wait to make their announcement until July 1, but these raises won’t be effective until February 1, 2022, a full seven months after nearly all other firms have instituted their salary increases. But, there is a bright side….

With $922,354,000 of gross revenue in 2020, Foley & Lardner placed 48th in the most recent Am Law 100 ranking. While the firm is making associates wait to receive their salary increases, management has decided to move to a national pay scale, which is great for those in smaller markets who have been getting paid much smaller salaries than their colleagues in major markets. We should also mention that only the first three class years at the firm (Tier 1) will be lockstep on the DPW scale, while all other class years (Tier 2) will receive merit-based increases, with pay “comparable to the salaries recently announced by other major firms.”

Insiders at the firm are pleased that they’ll be moving to a national salary scale, but others are less than thrilled about the long wait to receive their raises and the “cryptic” language concerning what midlevels and senior associates will be paid. Here’s what some of them had to say:

“Associates are not happy with the delayed increase, especially because associates were just told 1 week ago that billable hours, average billed rate, collections, etc. are all above budget so far this year and the firm is on track for its best year ever.

Associates also aren’t happy with the lack of clarity on what happens with salaries for everyone other than first years.”

“Foley & Lardner raised salaries today! The biggest news is Foley adopted a national pay scale, meaning the people in the Midwest and some other smaller markets are seeing a HUGE bump. People are super pumped in Milwaukee!”

Foley will distribute the full salary scale to associates in about two weeks. For now, congratulations to everyone at the firm. It may be difficult to remember right now, but good things come with time — including lots of money.

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(Flip to the next page to see the memo from Foley & Lardner.)

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.

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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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