Top Vault Firm Bumps Up Salaries For First-Year Associates, Leaves Everyone Else In Black Box

These firms are showing associates the money -- for their market, of course.

If you thought the only thing trending among law firms right now was vaccination mandates, then please take a step back and behold the compensation adjustments that are still spreading from firm to firm, almost as quickly as the Delta variant.

The latest firm to increase associate salaries is Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell, a national trial and litigation boutique that was just named as one of the top midsize law firms to work for in the country. The firm was ranked at No. 11, missing the Top 10 firms by just a hair.

According to a recent press release, first-year associates at Wheeler Trigg will now earn starting salaries of $180,000, a sum that reportedly leads the market for Denver-based firms. All other associates at the firm will receive commensurate market raises. These salary increases don’t come close to the new Davis Polk scale, but more money is more money.

“We are proud that we have long been able to attract the nation’s top young litigators to practice in Denver,” said WTO Partner & Recruiting Chair, Andrew Unthank. “With this salary increase, WTO continues to send a strong message to associates looking for a sophisticated option beyond the coastal law firms.”

“Our model generously rewards lawyers while providing clients with value that our coastal competitors can’t match,” said Unthank. “At every step, we offer young lawyers unparalleled stand-up and client-facing opportunities to develop into the next generation of trial and litigation leaders. This approach is the keystone of our client value proposition, promote-from-within culture, and continued organic growth.”

This model is a bit black-boxy for our liking, but as we keep saying, a raise is a raise is a raise. If you’d like to help us crack the compensation code for Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell for other class years, please feel free to send us an email. We will be sure to keep you anonymous.

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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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