Top 10 Biglaw Firm Gets On Board With Year-End And Special Bonuses
Extraordinary performance can also get associates extra cash.
Sidley Austin is the latest firm to cement their place in the top echelon of Biglaw by offering associates top-of-market bonuses. Must be that nifty $3,100,458,000 in gross revenue the firm took down last year.
The firm will offer the following bonus schedule for associates, provided they hit they 2,000 hour billable target.
| Class Year | 2024 Year-end Bonus | Special Bonus |
| 2016 | $115,000 | $25,000 |
| 2017 | $115,000 | $25,000 |
| 2018 | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| 2019 | $90,000 | $25,000 |
| 2020 | $75,000 | $20,000 |
| 2021 | $57,500 | $15,000 |
| 2022 | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| 2023 | $20,000 | $6,000 |
But there’s extra special news for “associates who have higher productivity and/or exceptional performance” — up to a 50% bump!
Associates with 2,000 qualifying hours will receive the base bonus reflected in the chart below. As in prior years, we also recognize associates who have higher productivity and/or exceptional performance with additional bonuses that exceed the base bonus amounts, resulting in those associates receiving more than the base bonus for their class year, and in some cases more than 50% above base bonus.
And if you failed to meet that 2,000 hour threshold, you may not be screwed. The firm notes they “may be recognized with partial bonuses.”
As is their tradition, Sidley also noted that associates were — as they do every year — moving up the existing compensation scale.
Bonuses will be paid out prior to December 31. You can read the full email 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].
