Today is August 22. It’s been two full business weeks since Milbank announced that it would be handing out special bonuses to associates ($6,000 to $25,000, based on class year). Other midsize and boutique firms have already stepped in to award summer bonuses to their associates — firms like Vartabedian Hester & Haynes ($5,000); Otterbourg ($15,000); Bell Nunnally (up to $15,000); and Hueston Hennigan ($10,000 to $30,000, based on hours) — but we’ve heard nothing but crickets from Milbank’s Biglaw brethren. Biglaw has more or less ignored the firm’s announcement.
Biglaw firms have played this waiting game before when it comes to bonuses, but this is getting to be a bit much. This is looking like what happened last summer, when Milbank announced a special summer bonus, and the market didn’t react until Cravath finally decided to match when announcing its year-end bonuses.
It’s hardly a spoiler alert to say what’s bound to happen next. We all know that the biggest and most profitable Biglaw firms are going to match these bonuses because no one wants to be caught flat-footed when it comes to compensation. Why not announce those matches now, instead of making associates wait to hear the good news? Stop delaying the inevitable.
We’ve got one week left before Labor Day is here. If your firm announces summer bonuses, please let us know ASAP, so we can spread the news and hopefully make the market do something.
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Summer Bonuses”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish.
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.
The post The Waiting Game: Associates Left Hanging (Yet Again) On Special Bonuses appeared first on Above the Law.
Today is August 22. It’s been two full business weeks since Milbank announced that it would be handing out special bonuses to associates ($6,000 to $25,000, based on class year). Other midsize and boutique firms have already stepped in to award summer bonuses to their associates — firms like Vartabedian Hester & Haynes ($5,000); Otterbourg ($15,000); Bell Nunnally (up to $15,000); and Hueston Hennigan ($10,000 to $30,000, based on hours) — but we’ve heard nothing but crickets from Milbank’s Biglaw brethren. Biglaw has more or less ignored the firm’s announcement.
Biglaw firms have played this waiting game before when it comes to bonuses, but this is getting to be a bit much. This is looking like what happened last summer, when Milbank announced a special summer bonus, and the market didn’t react until Cravath finally decided to match when announcing its year-end bonuses.
It’s hardly a spoiler alert to say what’s bound to happen next. We all know that the biggest and most profitable Biglaw firms are going to match these bonuses because no one wants to be caught flat-footed when it comes to compensation. Why not announce those matches now, instead of making associates wait to hear the good news? Stop delaying the inevitable.
We’ve got one week left before Labor Day is here. If your firm announces summer bonuses, please let us know ASAP, so we can spread the news and hopefully make the market do something.
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Summer Bonuses”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we’ll also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish.
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.
The post The Waiting Game: Associates Left Hanging (Yet Again) On Special Bonuses appeared first on Above the Law.
