Associates across the country are impatiently waiting for Cravath to offer its stamp of compensation approval and unleash bonus matching mayhem.
The post It’s Officially Bonus Time, But Will Other Firms Finally Offer Associates That Milbank Special Bonus Money — Or Even Bigger Bonuses? appeared first on Above the Law.
Earlier this week, Milbank surprised associates with an early year-end bonus announcement. The scale matched what was generously offered last year, with bonus amounts ranging from $15,000 to $115,000. Not to be forgotten are Milbank’s special summer bonuses, which ranged from $6,000 to $25,000. In total, Milbank is offering total bonuses ranging from $21,000 to $140,000.
When will the matching spree begin? And is any Biglaw firm now willing to match Milbank on its special bonuses? The waiting game has started as all eyes turn to Cravath.
Last year, Milbank rolled out its bonuses in early November, and the vast majority of firms waited for Cravath to finally make its own announcement three weeks later before Biglaw’s annual matching mayhem began. Will Cravath meet the moment and match Milbank’s summer bonuses? Industry insiders think it could happen. The American Lawyer has the details:
“Given the history of these firms paying the same associate compensation, at least at the top of the market, my thought with what we were going to see happen this year was the other firms were going to kind of take that special bonus into their year-end bonus numbers,” said Stephanie Biderman, who works in the associate practice group of recruiting firm Major Lindsey & Africa. “Time will tell, and we’ll see if that’s actually what happens.”
Biderman said her immediate takeaway is that Milbank continues in its role as a market leader and first mover when it comes to associate compensation, and the question now is whether other large firms would follow suit with the same figures as Milbank or exceed that scale. It simply may be too early to conjecture at this point, she said.
So, will other firms actually be able to ante up when it comes to offering Milbank money on top of their year-end bonuses? Unfortunately, not every large law firm is in a position to throw around $25K, and even the ones that are may attach additional strings to the money (like hours or office attendance requirements). Associates should be prepared for some extra fine print with this year’s cash bash.
Speaking of big bonuses, could Milbank’s already generous bonuses go even higher? As we noted just yesterday, Biglaw firms are doing well this year — really, really well. “Traditionally, when the numbers go much higher, it’s because these firms had incredibly profitable, successful years,” Biderman said. She’s not sure right now “if, as a result, we’re going to see those bonus numbers go up higher.”
Only time will tell… tick-tock, Cravath!
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Big Law Expected To Follow Milbank’s Lead With Associate Year-End Bonuses [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at 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 X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
