Bonus “szn” is officially in full swing. Just days after Cravath kicked things off, setting an annual bonus mark and retroactively joining Milbank’s summer special bonuses, we’ve got another firm confirming what we all expected: Baker Botts is matching the Cravath scale.
The Houston-based firm — which clocked a record 2024 with revenue up 11.8 percent and profits per equity partner up 17.6 percent — signals a solid 2025 by rewarding associates with the market-rate bonuses.
Here’s the year-end bonus breakdown:
To qualify for these bonuses, associates and special counsel need to be in good standing and employed on the payment date, meeting their hours targets for the bonus calculation period running December 1, 2024 through November 30, 2025. The special bonuses are for “U.S. associates and counsel who have met or exceeded productivity targets for client chargeable work.” The “client chargeable” language you might remember setting off some controversy last year as tipsters reported feeling the rug pulled out when the firm adopted the new standard cutting out some previously creditable hours. This year, presumably every one knew the score coming in.
The memo takes pains to remind everyone that “money is far from the sole measure of our commitment to our people” — which is exactly what you say right before announcing how much money you’re giving people.
At least I didn’t have to dust off any “bonuses from the oven” joke this year. Progress.
Congrats to everyone at Baker Botts!
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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.