{"id":139574,"date":"2025-12-22T11:23:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T19:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/22\/biglaw-firms-black-box-bonuses-seem-to-be-a-market-match\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T11:23:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T19:23:10","slug":"biglaw-firms-black-box-bonuses-seem-to-be-a-market-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/22\/biglaw-firms-black-box-bonuses-seem-to-be-a-market-match\/","title":{"rendered":"Biglaw Firm\u2019s Black-Box Bonuses Seem To Be A Market Match"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Biglaw firms jockey to position themselves as compensation leaders \u2014 or at least avoid being labeled as laggards \u2014 associates across the Am Law 100 continue to refresh their inboxes, hoping for a market match of the Cravath\/Milbank scale for year-end<\/a> and special bonuses<\/a>. 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. <\/p>\n

The firm we\u2019re speaking about is Texas-based Haynes Boone \u2014 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\u2019t recall, here\u2019s what a market match looks like at most firms (give or take the inclusion of the Class of 2025): <\/p>\n