As Biglaw firms jockey to position themselves as compensation leaders — or at least avoid being labeled as laggards — associates across the Am Law 100 continue to refresh their inboxes, hoping for a market match of the Cravath/Milbank scale for year-end and special bonuses. At some firms, however, associates face the return of black-box bonuses, leaving many wondering how, exactly, their payouts were decided. One firm that uses a black-box structure recently announced bonuses, and thankfully, it seems to be a match.
The firm we’re speaking about is Texas-based Haynes Boone — a firm that brought in $635,840,000 gross revenue in 2024, putting it at No. 86 on the Am Law 100. Last week, the firm announced individualized bonuses across all class years, and sources tell us that so long as attorneys were able to hit 2,000 hours, they received a market match. For those who don’t recall, here’s what a market match looks like at most firms (give or take the inclusion of the Class of 2025):
- Class of 2024 – $20,000 / $6,000
- Class of 2023 – $30,000 / $10,000
- Class of 2022 – $57,500 / $15,000
- Class of 2021 – $75,000 / $20,000
- Class of 2020 – $90,000 / $25,000
- Class of 2019 – $105,000 / $25,000
- Class of 2018+ – $115,000 / $25,000
Here’s some additional explanation on Haynes Boone’s bonus compensation strategy:
The firm’s memo goes on to note that those who don’t receive bonuses on scale for their class may be able to receive a “catch-up” bonus if their performance later meets standards. For a firm that puts its cash inside of a black box, this is about as close to transparency as you can get.
Congratulations to everyone at Haynes Boone!
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of compensation updates, so when your firm announces or matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus/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 your help!
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 o
The post Biglaw Firm’s Black-Box Bonuses Seem To Be A Market Match appeared first on Above the Law.
As Biglaw firms jockey to position themselves as compensation leaders — or at least avoid being labeled as laggards — associates across the Am Law 100 continue to refresh their inboxes, hoping for a market match of the Cravath/Milbank scale for year-end and special bonuses. At some firms, however, associates face the return of black-box bonuses, leaving many wondering how, exactly, their payouts were decided. One firm that uses a black-box structure recently announced bonuses, and thankfully, it seems to be a match.
The firm we’re speaking about is Texas-based Haynes Boone — a firm that brought in $635,840,000 gross revenue in 2024, putting it at No. 86 on the Am Law 100. Last week, the firm announced individualized bonuses across all class years, and sources tell us that so long as attorneys were able to hit 2,000 hours, they received a market match. For those who don’t recall, here’s what a market match looks like at most firms (give or take the inclusion of the Class of 2025):
- Class of 2024 – $20,000 / $6,000
- Class of 2023 – $30,000 / $10,000
- Class of 2022 – $57,500 / $15,000
- Class of 2021 – $75,000 / $20,000
- Class of 2020 – $90,000 / $25,000
- Class of 2019 – $105,000 / $25,000
- Class of 2018+ – $115,000 / $25,000
Here’s some additional explanation on Haynes Boone’s bonus compensation strategy:
The firm’s memo goes on to note that those who don’t receive bonuses on scale for their class may be able to receive a “catch-up” bonus if their performance later meets standards. For a firm that puts its cash inside of a black box, this is about as close to transparency as you can get.
Congratulations to everyone at Haynes Boone!
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of compensation updates, so when your firm announces or matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus/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 your help!
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 o
