Associate Bonus Watch: The Fat Lady Is Losing Her Voice
The latest news is that Morrison & Foerster's New York office has matched the market bonuses. We've checked with our MoFo sources, and this is accurate.
So consider it CONFIRMED. Specific numbers, after the jump.
Earlier today, a reader made this comment:
"Why don't you just call up all the firms now, instead of waiting for the rumors to appear one by one, so we can get this over with?"
Not a bad idea, given the "Chinese water torture" aspect to tracking bonuses. The only rub is that not all firms have necessarily decided on what they'll be paying -- at least in theory. Rumor is that the Cravath memo wasn't issued until after the Cravath partnership met. So it's (theoretically) possible that some firm might pay out above-market bonuses.
But as a practical matter, yes, it's true: Everybody is probably just going to match market.
In light of all the parallel conduct, maybe there's an antitrust issue here. But whether you can even get discovery on it depends upon the ruling in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, currently pending in the Supreme Court.
Is "Associate Bonus Watch" less suspenseful than a Hitchcock film? Yes. Is the bonus-tracking game effectively over? Pretty much.
But ABW has been great for our traffic. And who knows, maybe there will be a surprise or two. So we'll keep following the "news," even if it consists of every other firm falling into line, until all the top Biglaw shops have announced.
MORRISON & FOERSTER BONUS ANNOUNCEMENT MEMO
2006 $30,000 (pro-rated)
2005 $35,000
2004 $40,000
2003 $45,000
2002 $50,000
2001 $55,000
2000 $60,000
1999 and above: $65,000
MoFo NY Matches [Infirmation / Greedy NY]
Comments
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/13/D8M03K580.html
All these bonuses have even gotten to Scalia...bah hum bug
Posted by: Anonymous | December 13, 2006 05:09 PM
heard that Wachtell gave out 100% bonuses today
Posted by: jim | December 13, 2006 05:17 PM
Can you confirm rumor that Wachtell gave out 100% bonuses today which if true would give second year associates total compensation of over $300,000?
Posted by: anon | December 13, 2006 05:25 PM
Well, yes and no. It depends upon whether you count or exclude the midyear bonuses. Also, the percentage payout apparently varied significantly from class to class.
We'll be posting about Wachtell a little later. Still waiting to hear back from a few more sources.
Posted by: David Lat | December 13, 2006 05:26 PM
My best friend just got a 100% bonus at WLRK... ridiculous!!! a
Posted by: wachtell rules! | December 13, 2006 06:00 PM
Okay; now that you've got NYC out of the way, what about BIGlaw in other geographic areas?
California has lead the last two salary hikes, what's the gossip about bonuses? How big do they do it down in Texas? How much taxing and spending can D.C. associates expect? Has word blown in from the windy city yet?
So much ground left to cover...if only so that the NYC associates can feel even more superior than they do already.
Posted by: NYC is so over | December 13, 2006 06:05 PM
If MoFo paid these bonuses to their NYC associates, won't they pay the same bonuses to all their offices (incl. San Francisco, where they originated)?
Posted by: Anonymous | December 13, 2006 06:12 PM
MoFo has a separate salary and bonus structure in the NY office than in all the other offices. This was changed a couple of years back, in response to problems with recruiting lateral associates. I have heard this justified by the much higher billing rates in NYC, but there are definitely grumblings in the other offices.
Posted by: smoker | December 13, 2006 06:23 PM
Agreed. I'd like to see bonus information for some LA firms like Irell and Munger.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 13, 2006 11:53 PM