Historically, there are only a handful of Biglaw firms willing to stick their necks out and raise associate compensation, whether in terms of base salary or bonuses. Davis Polk is one of that small number. So, as the 2025 bonus season heats up, everyone’s wondering what move DPW is going to make.
Drumroll please…. they are matching. They announced year-end and special bonuses that match the prevailing Biglaw scale, as per the chart below. Generous enough, but not market altering.
- Class of 2025: Year-End $15,000 Special $6,000
- Class of 2024: Year-End $20,000 Special $6,000
- Class of 2023: Year-End $30,000 Special $10,000
- Class of 2022: Year-End $57,000 Special $15,000
- Class of 2021: Year-End $75,000 Special $20,000
- Class of 2020: Year-End $90,000 Special $25,000
- Class of 2019: Year-End $105,000 Special $25,000
- Class of 2018 and senior: Year-End $115,000 Special $25,000
Bonuses will be payable on December 30th.
So, is your firm matching *both* the year-end and special bonuses? Let Above the Law know! We depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches (or if they fail to do so), please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). 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 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. Thanks for all of your help!
Read the full memo below.
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 @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Davis Polk Weighs In On Associate Bonus Madness appeared first on Above the Law.
Historically, there are only a handful of Biglaw firms willing to stick their necks out and raise associate compensation, whether in terms of base salary or bonuses. Davis Polk is one of that small number. So, as the 2025 bonus season heats up, everyone’s wondering what move DPW is going to make.
Drumroll please…. they are matching. They announced year-end and special bonuses that match the prevailing Biglaw scale, as per the chart below. Generous enough, but not market altering.
- Class of 2025: Year-End $15,000 Special $6,000
- Class of 2024: Year-End $20,000 Special $6,000
- Class of 2023: Year-End $30,000 Special $10,000
- Class of 2022: Year-End $57,000 Special $15,000
- Class of 2021: Year-End $75,000 Special $20,000
- Class of 2020: Year-End $90,000 Special $25,000
- Class of 2019: Year-End $105,000 Special $25,000
- Class of 2018 and senior: Year-End $115,000 Special $25,000
Bonuses will be payable on December 30th.
So, is your firm matching *both* the year-end and special bonuses? Let Above the Law know! We depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches (or if they fail to do so), please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). 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 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. Thanks for all of your help!
Read the full memo below.
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].
