I don’t understand the reasoning behind the salary hike. I don’t think anyone was asking for it. If people are really working day and night, you can always solve that by giving a very impressive bonus. Brussels is not the U.S. It has never been and never will be.
— the Brussels managing partner of a U.S. Biglaw firm, commenting anonymously on Wilson Sonini’s decision to put associates and of counsel in its Brussels office on the Davis Polk salary scale earlier this week. Other managing partners and senior attorneys at Brussels firms have described the salary increase as “absolutely crazy,” “unbelievable,” and “off the charts,” with one even noting that it “makes no business sense.” The anonymous Biglaw managing partner says he has no intention to match the new salaries, but expects that other firms may boost compensation — perhaps even to the heights reached by WSGR — as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the move.
(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from Wilson Sonsini.)
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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.