Biglaw

Biglaw Associates Expecting Bigger, Better Bonuses After Wild Year Of Billables

Bonuses are coming... but they might not be big enough.

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It’s October 27, and with Halloween just days away, that means bonus season is right around the corner. Given the super hot lateral market, Biglaw firms are all about treats — with hardly any tricks — these days. Thanks to the many pandemic-related bonuses (appreciation bonuses and special bonuses) that law firms have handed out thus far, the thousand-plus respondents to our annual bonus season survey seem to think they’ll be treated to 2021 bonus compensation that’s going to pack a huge punch.

As a little reminder — as if you really needed one — this is what last year’s Baker McKenzie bonuses (Cravath later followed along) looked like, and this was on top of the Davis Polk appreciation bonuses (which ranged from $7,500 to $40,000):

Class of 2020 – $15,000 (pro-rated)
Class of 2019 – $15,000
Class of 2018 – $25,000
Class of 2017 – $50,000
Class of 2016 – $65,000
Class of 2015 – $80,000
Class of 2014 – $90,000
Class of 2013 – $100,000
Class of 2012+ – $100,000

This bonus scale has been in place for years on end. Associates think it’s time for a change — and a big one, at that. With money being handed out to associates like candy, our survey respondents think that bonuses will be large and in charge.

What will 2021 bonuses look like?

Almost 60% of respondents (58.24%) reported that they believe 2021 bonuses will be higher than 2020 bonuses. Biglaw firms better not disappoint their associates when it comes to bonus payouts this year, especially since they’ve been working so hard. (We’ll have more on this in just a moment.)

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Will any other money be headed associates’ way? Our survey respondents seem a little more pessimistic when it comes to bonuses on top of bonuses in 2021. After all, let’s not forget that at many firms, the Davis Polk special bonuses (ranging from $12,000 to $64,000) were broken up into two payments, and depending on any given firm’s plan, those have been paid out at various times this fall, with some even coming at the same time as year-end bonuses.

Do you think any additional special bonuses will be offered?

A little more than 55% of respondents (55.39%, to be exact) reported that they do not believe any additional special bonuses will be offered.

For those of you who are wondering when your bank accounts will be a little more flush, here’s a list of the dates when year-end market bonuses hit Biglaw since 2006, the very first year Above the Law started publishing bonus news. Take a look:

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Bonus announcements seem to be made in early to mid-November lately, but let’s see when our survey respondents think this year’s first bonus announcement will arrive.

When do you think 2021 bonuses will be announced?

The largest cohort of respondents (27.44%) reported that they believe 2021 bonuses will be announced in the third week of November. We should note that this neither tracks for the last two years of bonus announcements, nor does it line up with past precedent set by Cravath — if we assume that Cravath will be the first firm on bonuses this year, that is. Cravath tends to stick a schedule as far as these things are concerned, and in recent years, it has announced its bonus news on either the last Monday in November or the first Monday in the first week of December (this year, the first Monday in the first week of December is… November 29, oops). But with other firms in the mix — especially firms like Davis Polk — it’s really hard to say what will happen. Will one firm announce the same tired, old bonus scale only to have DPW swing by a short time later to blow it out of the water, as like what happened with appreciation bonuses and special bonuses? There may no rhyme or reason when it comes to this year’s big bonus announcements.

While associates are busy counting down the hours until Bonus Day, they’re likely even busier counting up the hours they’re on track to bill in 2021 to meet their targets for bonus eligibility. Just how much are associates expected to bill during an ongoing worldwide health crisis? The answer is: still quite a lot. About 81 percent of our survey respondents are on track to bill 2000 hours or more (much more, actually) in 2021. Here are the full results from our survey:

How many hours are you on track to bill in 2021?

The largest cohort of respondents (22.85%) said they are on track to bill 2400 hours or more this year. Working from home during the pandemic has all but erased the balance in work-life balance for Biglaw associates, which is why they’ve working their tails off. Law firms and partners are taking home record profits thanks to the pandemic, and that’s why associates are expecting a larger than average payday when bonus time rolls around. This time around, if associates don’t receive what they’re expecting when bonus time rolls around, they might leave….

Either way, Biglaw associates can soon look forward to their bank accounts being stuffed like the Thanksgiving turkeys they’ll gobble down at the end of next month.

Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm announces or 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 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. Thanks for all of your help!

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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