{"id":153610,"date":"2026-06-02T15:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/02\/the-salary-wars-have-begun-first-firm-matches-new-biglaw-pay-scale\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:05:19","slug":"the-salary-wars-have-begun-first-firm-matches-new-biglaw-pay-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/06\/02\/the-salary-wars-have-begun-first-firm-matches-new-biglaw-pay-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"The Salary Wars Have Begun: First Firm Matches New Biglaw Pay Scale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Biglaw salaries just keep going up, up, up. Much like the viral Huntrix anthem that\u2019s been stuck in everyone\u2019s head, compensation in the legal industry seems determined to hit ever higher notes. The only question now is which firm will be the next to join the chorus and send associate pay soaring even further.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier today, Milbank announced it was <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/alert-milbank-does-it-again-associate-salaries-are-going-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">upping the compensation stakes<\/a> for associates, increasing its salary scale by an impressive $10,000 to $20,000, depending on class year. Now McDermott Will &amp; Schulte \u2014 less than a year after its merger \u2014 is here with its own salary news, announcing that the firm will be matching Milbank\u2019s new compensation grid. Attorneys at the firm are thrilled about the super-quick match.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what the new salary scale looks like at the firm:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Class of 2026\/2025: $235,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2024: $245,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2023: $270,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2022: $320,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2021: $385,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2020: $410,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2019: $440,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2018: $455,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Congratulations to everyone at McDermott!<\/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\/the-salary-wars-have-begun-first-firm-matches-new-biglaw-pay-scale\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Salary Wars Have Begun: First Firm Matches New Biglaw Pay Scale<\/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=\"151\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/06\/money-hundreds-GettyImages-2177624474-300x151.jpg?resize=300%2C151&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n<p>Biglaw salaries just keep going up, up, up. Much like the viral Huntrix anthem that\u2019s been stuck in everyone\u2019s head, compensation in the legal industry seems determined to hit ever higher notes. The only question now is which firm will be the next to join the chorus and send associate pay soaring even further.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier today, Milbank announced it was <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/alert-milbank-does-it-again-associate-salaries-are-going-up\/\" id=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2026\/06\/alert-milbank-does-it-again-associate-salaries-are-going-up\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">upping the compensation stakes<\/a> for associates, increasing its salary scale by an impressive $10,000 to $20,000, depending on class year. Now McDermott Will &amp; Schulte \u2014 less than a year after its merger \u2014 is here with its own salary news, announcing that the firm will be matching Milbank\u2019s new compensation grid. Attorneys at the firm are thrilled about the super-quick match.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what the new salary scale looks like at the firm:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Class of 2026\/2025: $235,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2024: $245,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2023: $270,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2022: $320,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2021: $385,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2020: $410,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2019: $440,000<\/li>\n<li>Class of 2018: $455,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Congratulations to everyone at McDermott!<\/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#aadec3dad9eacbc8c5dccfdec2cfc6cbdd84c9c5c795d9dfc8c0cfc9de978f9fe8ecc3d8c78f989ae4cbc7cf8f9fee8f989ae8c5c4dfd985e7cbdec9c2cfd9\" 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#1f6c6b7e7c765f7e7d70697a6b777a737e68317c7072\" 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>Biglaw salaries just keep going up, up, up. Much like the viral Huntrix anthem that\u2019s been stuck in everyone\u2019s head, compensation in the legal industry seems determined to hit ever higher notes. The only question now is which firm will be the next to join the chorus and send associate pay soaring even further. Earlier [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":153611,"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-153610","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-oEeSDs.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153610","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=153610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}