Elite Firm Offers Cravath Cash And Spring Bonuses To Associates

How exciting!

money Golden dollar sign light beam lens flare explosionIf there’s anything we’ve learned during this round of raises, it’s that boutique law firms are ready, willing, and able to match the prevailing market rate to compensate their associates. No matter how high the scale, these firms are willing to meet — and sometimes exceed — Biglaw salaries.

Desmarais LLP, an elite firm that increased compensation for associates early this morning, is one of them.

Just before 6 a.m., John Desmarais, founding partner of the elite IP litigation firm, notified associates that their fortunes would soon be changing. “As the market continues to move, we do as well,” he wrote. Here’s their new salary scale, retroactive to January 1:

Desmarais Raise Scale 2022

Note that Desmarais is offering associates spring bonuses — and the firm’s bonus scale is even higher than that of Kaplan Hecker & Fink, the first firm to offer spring bonuses on top of raises this year. Will any other firms follow in their footsteps? Three firms offering spring bonuses would make this a trend. We shall see what happens.

Associates at Desmarais will see their new compensation and true-up payments in their next paycheck and their spring bonuses in May. Congratulations!

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Desmarais.)

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 Milbank”). 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 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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