The $415K Associate Salary Scale Continues Its Takeover Of The Biglaw Elite
Another Biglaw firm re-raises associate salaries.
If you want to prove to associates that they are well and truly valued — a necessity, given the white-hot lateral market — Biglaw firms know they’re going to have to pony up the top-of-market salary scale set by Cravath this week. Yes, even if they already raised salaries this year. Both the Milbank and Davis Polk scales have been overtaken, and that’s the game Biglaw firms have to play if they want to remain elite.
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 again. According to the voicemail associates received last night, O’Melveny is doing a full match of the *new* prevailing market rate as set by Cravath.
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 Year | Salary |
| 2014 | $415,000 |
| 2015 | $400,000 |
| 2016 | $370,000 |
| 2017 | $345,000 |
| 2018 | $295,000 |
| 2019 | $250,000 |
| 2020 | $225,000 |
| 2021 | $215,000 |
Like the last round of raises, these increases are retroactive to January 1.
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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).
