BOIES SCHILLER — MEMO — COMPENSATION UPDATES
From the Managing Partners:
Associates are critical to our and our clients’ success at Boies Schiller Flexner. More so than at our peer firms, you handle significant case responsibilities as soon as you are ready. Whether it’s taking important depositions, arguing key motions and appeals, negotiating settlements, or conducting hearings and trials, you collectively fuel important wins for our clients with your hard work, dedication, and skill as trial lawyers.
The Firm takes great pride in ensuring that associate compensation is at or above market pay when compared to our peers. Formula Compensation plays an important role in that effort, creating opportunities for associates to earn well beyond the market rate for year-end bonuses, while giving flexibility to associates who (for whatever reason) chose to work at a different pace. We are pleased to report that this was the case for bonuses in 2023 (more on that below). In addition, we are increasing the associate base salary scale as follows, effective January 1:
Class of 2023 $225,000
Class of 2022 $235,000
Class of 2021 $260,000
Class of 2020 $310,000
Class of 2019 $365,000
Class of 2018 $390,000
Class of 2017 $420,000
Class of 2016 and up $435,000
Bonus payments will be distributed this week to all associates in good standing. In 2023, we had a very successful year for both our clients and the Firm. As a result of the Firm’s Formula Compensation system, associates enjoy the ability to participate in that success. Although the driver was different in different instances—sometimes it was the result of extraordinarily hard work and long hours, sometimes a wise investment in a successful contingency matter, and sometimes participation in credit for originating a matter—associates on Formula Compensation in general did very well this year. Here are some figures that may be of interest:
- The prevailing market bonus scale ranges from $15,000 (for class of 2023, prorated) to $115,000 (for class of 2016 and above).*
- 87% of associates received a bonus that was as least as high as, and in most cases higher than, what that associate would have earned under the market system. (Those that did not typically invested material time in a contingency case that has not yet paid out.)
- Nearly half (47%) of all associates who were with the Firm for the entire compensation year received a bonus at or above the very top of the market, i.e., above $115,000. But whereas that bonus level is only available to very senior associates under the market system, many Boies Schiller associates earning bonuses at or about $115,000 were very junior, including more than a third (36%) of eligible associates from the 2021 and 2022 class years.
- Several associates received bonuses of $300,000 or more.
- The top associate bonus this year was more than 13 times what that associate would have earned under the market system.
- Overall, the associates bonus pool was more than twice as large as it would have been had all associates been on the market system.
Obviously, we all do this job for many reasons beyond money. But when the Firm does well, so should our associates. And when an associate contributes personally to the success of the Firm, he or she should participate personally in that success, too.
We look forward to seeing most of you in Florida at our annual retreat later this week, and once again, thank you for all of your contributions to the Firm.
The Managing Partners
* For the small number of associates who have opted to remain on the market system, the Firm will of course be matching the prevailing market bonus scale for associates in good standing with more than 2000 creditable hours. In addition, as we have for the past several years, we will be offering “extraordinary” and “extra-extraordinary” bonuses for any market associates who exceed the 2350 and 2600 creditable hour threshold, respectively.
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 and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.