{"id":153472,"date":"2026-06-01T13:38:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:38:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/01\/summer-bonus-season-picks-up-steam-as-elite-firm-hands-out-up-to-35k\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T13:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T21:38:57","slug":"summer-bonus-season-picks-up-steam-as-elite-firm-hands-out-up-to-35k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/01\/summer-bonus-season-picks-up-steam-as-elite-firm-hands-out-up-to-35k\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Bonus Season Picks Up Steam As Elite Firm Hands Out Up To $35K"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re an associate hoping for a little extra spending money this summer, there\u2019s reason for cautious optimism. Another prominent law firm has announced bonuses, becoming the second major firm we\u2019ve seen offer out-of-cycle cash this season. At a minimum, it\u2019s giving associates everywhere a fresh excuse to speculate about whether their own firm is getting ready to open its wallet.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday afternoon, California and New York boutique firm Hueston Hennigan announced that it will award associates with summer bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $35,000, regardless of class year. Attorneys must be on track to bill at least 2,000 hours to be eligible to receive a bonus, and, as is customary, higher billable hours translate into larger payouts. A source tells us that the associate reaction to the announcement has been \u201cexuberant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hueston Hennigan is now the second major firm we know of to have announced a spring or summer bonus this year. What does that mean for the rest of Biglaw, midsize firms, and boutiques that are often quick to follow compensation trends set by market leaders? Is another round of bonus announcements on the horizon? It\u2019s too early to say, but associates everywhere are undoubtedly hoping that more firms decide to spread a little extra wealth this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to everyone at Hueston Hennigan!<\/p>\n<p>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\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:tips@abovethelaw.com?subject=%5BFirm%20Name%5D%20Bonus\/Matches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email us<\/a>\u00a0(subject line: \u201c[Firm Name] Bonus\/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 your help!<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Staci-Zaretsky.jpg?resize=150%2C100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66762\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/author\/staci-zaretsky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:staci@abovethelaw.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/stacizaretsky.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/staci-zaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/summer-bonus-season-picks-up-steam-as-elite-firm-hands-out-up-to-35k\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Summer Bonus Season Picks Up Steam As Elite Firm Hands Out Up To $35K<\/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=\"184\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/money-pool-GettyImages-1163187329-300x184.jpg?resize=300%2C184&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>If you\u2019re an associate hoping for a little extra spending money this summer, there\u2019s reason for cautious optimism. Another prominent law firm has announced bonuses, becoming the second major firm we\u2019ve seen offer out-of-cycle cash this season. At a minimum, it\u2019s giving associates everywhere a fresh excuse to speculate about whether their own firm is getting ready to open its wallet.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday afternoon, California and New York boutique firm Hueston Hennigan announced that it will award associates with summer bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $35,000, regardless of class year. Attorneys must be on track to bill at least 2,000 hours to be eligible to receive a bonus, and, as is customary, higher billable hours translate into larger payouts. A source tells us that the associate reaction to the announcement has been \u201cexuberant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hueston Hennigan is now the second major firm we know of to have announced a spring or summer bonus this year. What does that mean for the rest of Biglaw, midsize firms, and boutiques that are often quick to follow compensation trends set by market leaders? Is another round of bonus announcements on the horizon? It\u2019s too early to say, but associates everywhere are undoubtedly hoping that more firms decide to spread a little extra wealth this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Congratulations to everyone at Hueston Hennigan!<\/p>\n<p>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\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#e5918c9596a584878a9380918d80898492cb868a88da9690878f808691d8c0d0a7a38c9788c0d7d5ab848880c0d0a1c0d7d5a78a8b9096caa88491868d8096\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">email us<\/a>\u00a0(subject line: \u201c[Firm Name] Bonus\/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 your help!<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Staci-Zaretsky.jpg?resize=150%2C100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-66762\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/author\/staci-zaretsky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#06757267656f466764697063726e636a67712865696b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">email<\/a>\u00a0her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/stacizaretsky.bsky.social\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.threads.net\/@stacizaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/staci-zaretsky\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re an associate hoping for a little extra spending money this summer, there\u2019s reason for cautious optimism. Another prominent law firm has announced bonuses, becoming the second major firm we\u2019ve seen offer out-of-cycle cash this season. At a minimum, it\u2019s giving associates everywhere a fresh excuse to speculate about whether their own firm is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153473,"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-153472","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\/2026\/06\/Staci-Zaretsky-1XKwMV.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153472","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=153472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153472\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}