The days are getting shorter, but — seasonal affective disorder to one side — that doesn’t mean there is just despair. Biglaw had a pretty excellent 2021 (monetarily speaking; the whole
living-through-a-pandemic thing sucked for everyone) and they are showing associates just how much their hard work is appreciated.
The latest firm to say thank you with cold, hard cash is Sidley Austin. The firm took in $2,462,935,000 in gross revenue last year, making is number 6 on the Am Law 100, and they are happy to share their good fortune with the associates who made it all possible.
As expected, the firm matched the prevailing market bonuses as detailed in the chart below:
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Those who “have higher productivity and/or exceptional performance” will get additional bonuses. Congratulations to Sidley associates!
[UPDATE: Bloomberg is also reporting that Sidley has increased salaries by “up to $35,000.” We believe this is a misreading of the memo — rather we read the memo on the next page as acknowledging that each class year is graduating to the pre-established salary for an associate that’s one-year older (though with the eldest class receiving an additional $10K for a $375K base). We will update with clarification from Sidley.
UPDATE 2: Confirmed.]
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You can read the full memo on the next page.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, 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).