Top 20 Biglaw Firm Matches Cash Compensation Tsunami For Associates
This is the latest firm to ride in on this big-time money wave.
One by one, Biglaw firms are quickly lining up to match the soon-to-be prevailing salary scale announced by Davis Polk just yesterday. (Compare this to the painfully slow matching process that occurred when Milbank announced its new salary scale last month.)
If beginning the afternoon with a raise isn’t a big motivator to do your best work, then we don’t know what is. That’s exactly what just happened at Ropes & Gray, one of the top Biglaw firms in the country.
Unsurprisingly, the firm is matching the Davis Polk salary scale — with even more money for its most senior associates. Here’s what that looks like at Ropes:
| Class year | New 2022 base salary |
| 2021 | $215,000 |
| 2020 | $225,000 |
| 2019 | $250,000 |
| 2018 | $293,500 |
| 2017 | $335,000 |
| 2016 | $360,500 |
| 2015 | $381,000 |
| 2014 | $396,500 |
| 2013+ | $406,500 |
Note that the firm is doling out $406,500 salaries to the class of 2013 and beyond (just like Debevoise before it). Will any other firms be willing to make this match for its most senior associates?
Associates at the firm will see their raises reflected in their March paychecks, retroactive to January 1, 2022. Congratulations, everyone!
(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from Ropes & Gray.)
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm 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.
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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.
