Some Biglaw Firms Are Holding Partner Bonuses Hostage To Keep Them From Leaving

Those golden handcuffs sure are tight….
The post Some Biglaw Firms Are Holding Partner Bonuses Hostage To Keep Them From Leaving appeared first on Above the Law.

Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.

There are firms out there who say, ‘Here’s your bonus. We’re going to spread it out over one, two, maybe even three-quarters.’ In large part, it’s, one, for cash flow reasons, and two, it’s sort of like a golden handcuff. If you leave, you may not get the money.

— Blane Prescott, managing shareholder at MesaFive, who acts as a consultant to Biglaw firms on compensation, in comments given to the American Lawyer, on one of the strategies he’s seen firms use to retain partners who otherwise may have left their firms if not for refusing to leave money on the table.

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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.