{"id":137309,"date":"2025-11-21T12:19:56","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T20:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/11\/21\/davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:19:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T20:19:56","slug":"davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/11\/21\/davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness\/","title":{"rendered":"Davis Polk Weighs In On Associate Bonus Madness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>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.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2021\/12\/davis-polk-bonuses-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Davis Polk is one of that small number<\/a>. So, as the 2025 bonus season heats up, everyone\u2019s wondering what move DPW is going to make.<\/p>\n<p>Drumroll please\u2026. 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.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Class of 2025: Year-End $15,000  Special $6,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2024: Year-End $20,000 Special $6,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2023: Year-End $30,000 Special $10,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2022: Year-End $57,000 Special $15,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2021: Year-End $75,000 Special  $20,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2020: Year-End $90,000 Special $25,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2019: Year-End $105,000 Special $25,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2018 and senior: Year-End $115,000 Special $25,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bonuses will be payable on December 30th. <\/p>\n<p>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\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:tips@abovethelaw.com?subject=%5BFirm%20Name%5D%20Matches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email us<\/a>\u00a0(subject line: \u201c[Firm Name] Matches\u201d). Please include the memo, if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don\u2019t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.<\/p>\n<p>And if you\u2019d like to sign up for ATL\u2019s 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\u2019t need to do anything. You\u2019ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for all of your help!<\/p>\n<p>Read the full memo below.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"697\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-12.38.14-PM-1024x697.png?resize=1024%2C697&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1173404\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr>\n<p><strong><em><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-80083 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568.jpg?resize=174%2C160&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"160\" title=\"\">Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1XC11QhFCWxWr4NQrk2sEA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of <a href=\"https:\/\/legaltalknetwork.com\/podcasts\/thinking-like-a-lawyer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email <a href=\"mailto:kathryn@abovethelaw.com?subject=Your%20Column\" target='_blank\"' rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/11\/davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness\/%E2%80%9C\/\/twitter.com\/Kathryn1%22%E2%80%9D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/11\/davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/11\/davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Davis Polk Weighs In On Associate Bonus Madness<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-single__featured-image post-single__featured-image--medium alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/11\/GettyImages-628924628-300x300.jpg?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>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.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2021\/12\/davis-polk-bonuses-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Davis Polk is one of that small number<\/a>. So, as the 2025 bonus season heats up, everyone\u2019s wondering what move DPW is going to make.<\/p>\n<p>Drumroll please\u2026. 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.<\/p>\n<ul id=\"rte-47320cd2-c66e-11f0-a9be-9dec3236c5e5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Class of 2025: Year-End $15,000  Special $6,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2024: Year-End $20,000 Special $6,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2023: Year-End $30,000 Special $10,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2022: Year-End $57,000 Special $15,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2021: Year-End $75,000 Special  $20,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2020: Year-End $90,000 Special $25,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2019: Year-End $105,000 Special $25,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2018 and senior: Year-End $115,000 Special $25,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Bonuses will be payable on December 30th. <\/p>\n<p>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\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#5a2e332a291a3b38352c3f2e323f363b2d7439353765292f38303f392e677f6f181c3328377f686a143b373f7f6f1e7f686a173b2e39323f29\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">email us<\/a>\u00a0(subject line: \u201c[Firm Name] Matches\u201d). Please include the memo, if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don\u2019t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.<\/p>\n<p>And if you\u2019d like to sign up for ATL\u2019s 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\u2019t need to do anything. You\u2019ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for all of your help!<\/p>\n<p>Read the full memo below.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"697\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/Screenshot-2025-11-21-at-12.38.14-PM-1024x697.png?resize=1024%2C697&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1173404\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><em><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-80083 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568.jpg?resize=174%2C160&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"174\" height=\"160\" title=\"\">Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1XC11QhFCWxWr4NQrk2sEA\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of <a href=\"https:\/\/legaltalknetwork.com\/podcasts\/thinking-like-a-lawyer\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#c1aaa0b5a9b3b8af81a0a3aeb7a4b5a9a4ada0b6efa2aeacfeb2b4a3aba4a2b5fc98aeb4b3e4f3f182aeadb4acaf\" target=\"_blank&quot;\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/11\/davis-polk-weighs-in-on-associate-bonus-madness\/%E2%80%9C\/\/twitter.com\/Kathryn1%22%E2%80%9D\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon <a href=\"https:\/\/mastodon.social\/@Kathryn1%22%22\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@[email\u00a0protected].<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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.\u00a0Davis Polk is one of that small number. So, as the 2025 bonus season heats up, everyone\u2019s wondering what move DPW is going to make. Drumroll please\u2026. they are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":137271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-137309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-FAIxRJ.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}