This is one of those times where smaller really is better. The California litigation boutique Dovel & Luner, which specializes in plaintiff-side litigation, made headlines this past summer when they announced a starting salary of $215,000 for first-year associates. Now they are upping the ante on clerkship bonuses, blowing away the rest of the market.

The market for attorneys that have experience as clerks is competitive. The high end of bonuses for federal clerks who decide to join law firms post-clerkship reaches six figures. Last year, Quinn Emanuel announced a clerkship bonus of $105,000, a move Hueston Hennigan quickly followed. Then Fish & Richardson offered an impressive number to former clerks ($115,000), but there was a catch — that number was only if you had experience on the Federal Circuit and it was for two years of service as a clerk.

There’s even more good news for those interested in working at an elite boutique post-clerkship as the bonuses at Dovel & Luner top even the largess of Biglaw. According to the firm’s website, they’re now offering a bonus of $140,000 for attorneys coming to the firm post-clerkship. To say that’s a nice signing bonus is a bit of an understatement.

So do you think $140,000 will soon become the new normal for firms that want to attract the best and brightest clerks to their ranks? Are there any other firms that are ready to make the move on clerkship bonuses? If you have information about any firm’s clerkship bonuses, you should email us or text us (646-820-8477) with all the details. Thanks!

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. 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).