Earlier today, Pillsbury Winthrop announced year-end bonuses. But not everyone is happy about it. Tipsters at the firm say they feel stiffed out of the special bonuses making their way through the market on top of the standard year-end bonuses.
The situation at Pillsbury is unique in that associates can actually make or even exceed the market bonuses — if they bill a bunch. But the firm has always had “super bonuses” for high billers…. so even though the firm’s announcement puts a nice spin on it:
Our existing market based bonus and above market Super Bonus programs also remain in effect, except that for Super Bonus 1 we are increasing the additional bonus amount for those in the 5th year Associate through Counsel classes from $20,000 to $25,000, so that those meeting the Super Bonus 1 requirements will receive total bonuses equaling or exceeding the “special” bonuses recently announced by other firms.
Insiders have a different take, with some saying, “Pillsbury gives special bonus — but only if you’re hitting 2200+ and in certain class years; so effectively not special at all because this is already the default policy” and “fwiw, people here are pretty furious about it, as you can imagine.”
The bonus schedule at the firm is as follows:
| Class | 2024 Base Bonus 1700 Client 2000 Creditable |
2024 Super 1 Bonus 1900 Client 2200 Creditable |
2024 Super 2 Bonus 2100 Client 2400 Creditable |
| Fall Hires | $15,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 1st Year Associate | $20,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 2nd Year Associate | $30,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 3rd Year Associate | $57,500 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 4th Year Associate | $75,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 5th Year Associate | $90,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Senior Associate 1 | $105,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Senior Associate 2 | $115,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Counsel | $115,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
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 or Mastodon @[email protected].
Dear Associates and Counsel,
I am pleased to confirm that Pillsbury will continue to pay market level salaries to our on track associates and counsel in good standing, reflecting the following US salary scale for the coming year:
| Class | 2025 Salary |
| 1st Year Associate | $225,000 |
| 2nd Year Associate | $235,000 |
| 3rd Year Associate | $260,000 |
| 4th Year Associate | $310,000 |
| 5th Year Associate | $365,000 |
| Senior Associate 1 | $390,000 |
| Senior Associate 2 | $420,000 |
| Counsel | $435,000 |
Our existing market based bonus and above market Super Bonus programs also remain in effect, except that for Super Bonus 1 we are increasing the additional bonus amount for those in the 5th year Associate through Counsel classes from $20,000 to $25,000, so that those meeting the Super Bonus 1 requirements will receive total bonuses equaling or exceeding the “special” bonuses recently announced by other firms. Here are the updated bonus amounts:
| Class | 2024 Base Bonus 1700 Client 2000 Creditable |
2024 Super 1 Bonus 1900 Client 2200 Creditable |
2024 Super 2 Bonus 2100 Client 2400 Creditable |
| Fall Hires | $15,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 1st Year Associate | $20,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 2nd Year Associate | $30,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 3rd Year Associate | $57,500 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 4th Year Associate | $75,000 | $20,000 | $30,000 |
| 5th Year Associate | $90,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Senior Associate 1 | $105,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Senior Associate 2 | $115,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
| Counsel | $115,000 | $25,000 | $30,000 |
On behalf of Pillsbury, thank you for your continuing dedication to our clients and the firm.
Have a great holiday season.
Dave
| David T. Dekker | Firm Chair |
| Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP |
| 1200 Seventeenth Street NW | Washington, DC 20036-3006 |
| [email protected] | website bio |