Top 100 Biglaw Firm Offers Mega Bonuses For Big Billers, On Top Of Market And Special Bonuses
Wow! This Biglaw firm is offering associates extra-special bonuses of up to $51,750 over market.
Biglaw are matching bonuses like it’s going out of style now that Cravath has signed off on Milbank’s incredibly generous bonus scale, with year-end bonuses and special bonuses ranging up to $140,000 for associates.
For some firms, though, these market bonuses are just the base line — as it turns out, there’s a great deal of extra bonus money to be had. Just how much extra bonus money are we talking?
On Friday afternoon, Schulte Roth & Zabel announced that the firm would be matching the Milbank scale. With a maximum bonus potential for senior associates of nearly $200,000, SRZ is in it to win it. The firm — which brought in $545,430,000 gross revenue in 2023, putting it at No. 95 on the Am Law 100 — is now the second one outside of the immediate Am Law Top 50, excluding boutiques, to make this match. Here’s what bonuses looks like at SRZ:
Schulte is once again offering step-up bonuses to associates who have really dedicated themselves to the firm through their billable hours. Here’s an excerpt from the memo:
The Firm will again reward associates who have made extraordinary contributions to the Firm and our clients with additional bonuses, ranging from $3,000 to $51,750. For example, an associate in the class of 2017 is eligible to receive a maximum total bonus of $191,750 for 2024.
These above-market bonuses are quite the “thank you” for the incredibly hard work associates have been putting in this year. A source at the firm tells Above the Law, “I think plenty of people will be getting way above market comp.” Very exciting news.
Congratulations to everyone at Schulte Roth & Zabel!
(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from the firm.)
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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 X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
