Milbank announced associate salary raises on June 2. Today, we’re on the verge of August, and Biglaw’s traditional game of Waiting for Cravath has officially entered the absurd phase.
When we first checked in on the market a few weeks ago, it was strange. Now it’s bordering on unprecedented. The firms that traditionally wait for Cravath to make the next move are… still waiting. Cravath, meanwhile, remains silent, and with each passing day, the silence gets harder to explain.
This isn’t a question of whether the raises are coming. Virtually no one believes they aren’t. Associates expect them. Recruiters expect them. Firm leaders almost certainly expect them. At this point, it’s less a matter of if than when.
Why are we still doing this?
For years, Cravath has served as the unofficial signal for the rest of Biglaw. The firm announces a salary scale, and much of the market falls into line shortly afterward. It’s an old tradition, even if it has never made much sense. But this year has exposed just how strange the ritual really is.
Milbank has already spoken. Boutique firms have shown they aren’t afraid to move first. Yet much of Biglaw has collectively decided to freeze until Cravath gives everyone permission to act.
We’re now approaching two full months since Milbank’s announcement. That’s an eternity in the legal industry. Summer programs are wrapping up. Recruiting season is around the corner. Firms have had more than enough time to run the numbers, secure approvals, and decide what they want to do.
And still… a stunning silence.
The longer this drags on, the more the delay becomes the story. No one seriously believes that dozens of profitable firms need another week — or another month — to determine whether they can afford raises that everyone has known were likely since early June.
If the market is going to match, then match.
If someone wants to chart a different course, then say so.
Keeping thousands of associates in limbo while everyone waits for a single firm to blink first is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
At this point, the raises themselves are no longer the surprise. The only surprise is that we’re still waiting.
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of 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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.