{"id":153600,"date":"2026-06-02T15:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/02\/the-associate-compensation-race-is-on-with-latest-set-of-raises\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:05:13","slug":"the-associate-compensation-race-is-on-with-latest-set-of-raises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/02\/the-associate-compensation-race-is-on-with-latest-set-of-raises\/","title":{"rendered":"The Associate Compensation Race Is On With Latest Set Of Raises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The dominoes are starting to fall, people.<\/p>\n<p>Hot on the heels of <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/alert-milbank-does-it-again-associate-salaries-are-going-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Milbank\u2019s announcement<\/a> that associates would be seeing raises of $10,000 to $20,000 effective July 1, California and New York litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan has stepped up and matched the new scale. And before you ask,  yes, this is <em>in addition<\/em> to the <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 bonuses of up to $35,000<\/a> that HH already announced.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a moment to appreciate what\u2019s happening here. Hueston Hennigan, a firm well known for punching above its weight in the compensation wars, is not just matching the new Milbank salary scale, but doing so while associates are <em>already<\/em> sitting on summer bonuses that range from $10,000 to $35,000 (with the caveat that attorneys must be on track to bill 2,000 hours to be eligible). That is an extremely good summer to be an HH associate.<\/p>\n<p>The firmwide email announcing the raises:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"572\" height=\"307\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/image001-1.png?resize=572%2C307&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1185063\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is very much on brand for a firm that has a history of making noise in the compensation conversation. And it raises the obvious question: who\u2019s next? Milbank announcing a new scale is always the opening bell, and HH (and <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/the-salary-wars-have-begun-first-firm-matches-new-biglaw-pay-scale\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">McDermott Will &amp; Schulte<\/a>) answering it this quickly (plus the added context of already-announced summer bonuses) is going to put pressure on every other firm that wants to compete for elite talent.<\/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<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=\"\"><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1XC11QhFCWxWr4NQrk2sEA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/legaltalknetwork.com\/podcasts\/thinking-like-a-lawyer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:kathryn@abovethelaw.com?subject=Your%20Column\">her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kathryn1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/kathryn1.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/the-associate-compensation-race-is-on-with-latest-set-of-raises\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Associate Compensation Race Is On With Latest Set Of Raises<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/strong><\/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=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/12\/money-briefcase-GettyImages-157673950-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>The dominoes are starting to fall, people.<\/p>\n<p>Hot on the heels of <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/alert-milbank-does-it-again-associate-salaries-are-going-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Milbank\u2019s announcement<\/a> that associates would be seeing raises of $10,000 to $20,000 effective July 1, California and New York litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan has stepped up and matched the new scale. And before you ask,  yes, this is <em>in addition<\/em> to the <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 bonuses of up to $35,000<\/a> that HH already announced.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a moment to appreciate what\u2019s happening here. Hueston Hennigan, a firm well known for punching above its weight in the compensation wars, is not just matching the new Milbank salary scale, but doing so while associates are <em>already<\/em> sitting on summer bonuses that range from $10,000 to $35,000 (with the caveat that attorneys must be on track to bill 2,000 hours to be eligible). That is an extremely good summer to be an HH associate.<\/p>\n<p>The firmwide email announcing the raises:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"572\" height=\"307\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/image001-1.png?resize=572%2C307&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1185063\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This is very much on brand for a firm that has a history of making noise in the compensation conversation. And it raises the obvious question: who\u2019s next? Milbank announcing a new scale is always the opening bell, and HH (and <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/the-salary-wars-have-begun-first-firm-matches-new-biglaw-pay-scale\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">McDermott Will &amp; Schulte<\/a>) answering it this quickly (plus the added context of already-announced summer bonuses) is going to put pressure on every other firm that wants to compete for elite talent.<\/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#99edf0e9ead9f8fbf6effcedf1fcf5f8eeb7faf6f4a6eaecfbf3fcfaeda4bcacdbdff0ebf4bcaba9d7f8f4fcbcacddbcaba9dbf6f7eceab6d4f8edfaf1fcea\" 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<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=\"\"><strong><em>Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/1XC11QhFCWxWr4NQrk2sEA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/legaltalknetwork.com\/podcasts\/thinking-like-a-lawyer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection#6d060c19051f14032d0c0f021b08190508010c1a430e0200521e180f07080e19503402181f485f5d2e0201180003\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Kathryn1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/kathryn1.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The dominoes are starting to fall, people. Hot on the heels of Milbank\u2019s announcement that associates would be seeing raises of $10,000 to $20,000 effective July 1, California and New York litigation boutique Hueston Hennigan has stepped up and matched the new scale. And before you ask, yes, this is in addition to the summer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153601,"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-153600","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\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-D9KECT.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153600","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=153600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}