If a Biglaw firm wants to stay competitive in a white-hot lateral associate market, they’re going to have to step up and pay like the top of the market. So, it isn’t surprising that O’Melveny, a firm that took in $835,097,000 in gross revenue in 2020 — making it 54th on the Am Law 100 — has decided to raise salaries.
According to the voicemail associates received last night, O’Melveny is doing a full match of the prevailing market rate as set by the combination of Milbank and Davis Polk.
For those who have not yet memorized the scale, this is the new compensation grid at OMM (and a whole bunch of other firms):
| Class of 2021 | $215,000 |
| Class of 2020 | $225,000 |
| Class of 2019 | $250,000 |
| Class of 2018 | $293,500 |
| Class of 2017 | $335,000 |
| Class of 2016 | $360,500 |
| Class of 2015 | $381,000 |
| Class of 2014 | $396,500 |
And like many of their peer firms, the raises will be retroactive to January 1 and paid on March 15th.
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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).