As the old saying goes, third time’s a charm! And that’s increasingly the motto of Biglaw firms trying to stay on top of the compensation heap.
The latest firm to announce raises — their *third* round of them — is Irell & Manella. The firm made $132,903,000 in gross revenue in 2020, making it 183rd in the Am Law 200. Irell previously announced raises, back when the Milbank scale was the top of the market. Then Davis Polk increased that scale for midlevel and senior associates, which the firm promptly matched. But then Cravath went and spoiled that. But Irell is committed to the top of the compensation scale, so a third round of raises is in order.
Yesterday, the firm announced the following compensation scale:
| Class | Base Compensation |
| 1st year | $215,000 |
| 2nd year | $225,000 |
| 3rd year | $250,000 |
| 4th year | $295,000 |
| 5th year | $345,000 |
| 6th year | $370,000 |
| 7th year | $400,000 |
| 8th year | $415,000 |
The increases are retroactive to January 1. 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).