Rumor is that Williams & Connolly gives $25,000 for each federal clerkship, so a d.ct + coa (or 2 coa) = $50,000. Can anyone confirm or deny?

i think W&C gives $50k for 1 year of clerking on DC Circuit.

What is the deal with taxes and such? Are they deducted off the bonuses (i.e. 35k bonus = about 20k or so in your pocket in NYC) or are those post-tax amounts?

Not exactly about clerkships, but is it true that Sidley has a special bonus for Bristow Fellows?

Most firms offer special bonuses for Bristow Fellowships. A friend of mine at WilmerHale indicated that the firm would pay up to 75K for a Bristow, although I believe the negotiations are ad hoc

anyone know about cravath?

For a nice Gallion-esque bio page, check this: http://www.susmangodfrey.com/Bio/bio-wcarmody.html
I particularly enjoyed the backdrop in his photo.

Simpson pays a $15K bonus.

Ropes & Gray pays $20k, plus they'll allow you to work there for the first 6 wks of the summer before the clerkship at their summer associate salary.

cravath is currently 15k per clerkship, up to two

They count as regular income. Depending on how much else you made in that year (and when they pay it to you) it might not get taxed at a huge rate...

I believe Skadden is at $35.

"As one Biglaw partner pointed out to us, it's early to be thinking about clerkship bonuses, because we're not yet at the point in the year when law clerks change over (typically in the summer or fall). So hopefully some firms will match S&C before it's all over."

So basically, if you're clerking now, you're screwed . . .because the firm isn't going to match or raise until the incoming crop for fall 2008? That blows.

cravath's website says 15K per year
hard to link to b/c of the way their website is set up, but:
cravath.com>careers>law students>associate life

Has anyone contacted a firm about matching Sullivan's new bonus?

Wiley Rein HATES to lose clerks on its bonus, and said upfront that I should call and negotiate before accepting somewhere else because of the $$$.

Cahill, Gordon & Reindel -- 15k for 1 year, 30k for 2 years

Ropes & Gray's info re bonus is at:

http://www.ropesgrayhiring.com/pages/join/clerks.htm

Followup to 4:54pm: No, you're not screwed yet because you could spread the word to 1Ls that a particular firm isn't a compensation leader.

Does, say, Cravath really want rising 2Ls to see that SULLIVAN GIVES $50K, BUT CRAVATH GIVES ONLY $15K? Might an unsuspecting 1L think S&C is better than the powerhouse at Worldwide Plaza?

Interesting. Kind of weird that a firm like Paul Hastings is at $35k, yet a DPW is only at $15k.

Skadden does offer 35k, just heard it from a friend that started there

Kind of interesting that Atlanta firms offer nothing or paltry sums. Why would I go there?

Sounds like any clerk who hasn't accepted an offer yet should be applying some serious pressure on their potential firms...

Prestige?!!?!? At some point, who cares? $50K/35K v. $15K is a no brainer to my loan-ridden self.

Lat, you buried the lede!

Weil offers $70K for those with two years of clerkship experience? That makes them the market leader for those clerks...

I understand this may have change, but this is what Paul Weiss's website says as of today:

http://www.paulweisscareers.com/clerkship/

"Paul, Weiss lawyers who join the firm after completing a one-year judicial clerkship receive a bonus of $15,000. Those who complete a clerkship of two years receive a bonus of $30,000."

I'm aware that an ALJ clerkship is not going to be considered a federal clerkship, but any idea if ALJ clerks would get some sort of a bonus? It's at least more prestigious than a state court clerkship.

Wow - Winston must not care about hiring clerks if it is going to pay 20k less than Jenner, Sidley, McDermott and Mayer in Chicago.

Guess I know who to scratch off the list.
What about K&E?

I can't believe Skadden hasn't matched to $50K!!!!!!

I can't believe Skadden hasn't matched to $50K!!!!!!

I have friends at Kirkland who say they're also at $35k.

which IP shops offer $70k federal circuit clerkship bonuses?

The clerkship bonus doesn't really affect recruiting. People go back to where they summered.

i thought the clerkship WAS the bonus.

be happy with what you get and thankful for the opportunity and experience. (not to mention the year of credit/ higher starting pay at the law firm.)

no firm should feel compelled to match. those with loans will come anyway.

Well, I guess Winston isn't having a problem getting people, or else they would raise. If the firm thinks it will change rentention or recruitment, they'll change. They're not there to just throw money at people.

Re: Winston; what's worse is that they demand you show up in-town for a screening interview at your own expense. While that's fine for in-town clerks, other firms aren't so cheap when it comes to clerkship recruiting.

It seems that Winston has a pattern of being a cheapskate. Which is why I interviewed elsewhere.

David, may I politely request that you insert some kind of nomenclature to indicate which ones are the the "flat" clerkship bonus (ie, same pay no matter if one or two years, one or two judges), or "per year" bonus (ie, $15K for one year, $30K for two years). Thanks.

Are these bonuses usually contingent on you staying at your particular sweatshop for one year? Two years?

Also, if you did not accept an offer before your clerkship and paid for the bar out-of-pocket because you did not get the $12,000 bar stipend, can you get the 12k bar stipend after the fact (once you accept an offer) and bring your total signing bonus to $47,000 (or $62,000 at Brokeback Lawfirm)?

stupid q, but are all the above bonuses in addition to the class credit (i.e. do most firms pay you $15k plus consider you a 2nd year when you come on, so the actual bonus is more like $25k plus a year less of the partner track?)

Mr. Lat,

With respect with your "finding" number 3:

"Any firm worth its salt should offer a clerkship bonus of at least $35,000. This is what numerous big firms already do, and it should be considered the "market" rate. A bonus of anything less than $35K is chintzy and lame."

How much do you think deep-pocketed law firms and oil companies should pay toward universal healthcare? Just curious.

Thanks.

Would someone really go back to Winston after they summered when they could go a block away (in 3 different directions) and make 20k more the first year? Seems unlikely. The critical motions practice seemed like a good idea, oh well.

Just put either (per year) or (flat) after each entry so we know!!!!!

Lat you are misleading people with your "it's safe to assume this is flat." I know for a fact almost all those $15Ks will be $30K for two years of experience.

9:31, you've misquoted from the post, which says it's "safest" -- not "safe" -- to assume the bonuses are flat.

Of course that's the "safest" assumption. If the bonus gets doubled for more than one clerkship year, the extra money is gravy.

If you have multiple clerkships or multiple years of clerking experience, you should obviously check with your prospective employer about their specific policy.

Don't "rely upon what you read on a random blog." Someone smart enough to get a judicial clerkship - or multiple judicial clerkships - should know better than to do that.

anus

Would some one please inquire with HR departments as to why Winston and & Jenner Chicago are 20 and 15K less, respectively, then their direct market competitors: Kirkland, Sidley, Mayer and Mcder. that pay 35k? Seems odd since Winston & Jenner pay market salaries?

White & Case offers $15,000 per year of clerkship.

Do most firms give the bonuses to State Supreme Ct. clerks, particularly DE's Supreme Ct? Or even DE's Chancery Court clerks?

Most firms extend the policy to the highest court of a state, although I know from a friend of mine who clerked with the Chancery Court last year that they pretty much get the fed appellate rate.

Re: Winston - I'm surprised that Winston pays lower bonuses in comparison to competitor firms. The base salaries are the same - seems odd. Why is that? Any ideas?

Wilmer is below market: they offer $20K for Court of Appeals clerks.

nyclerk: taxes take 49.5% or so off your bonus, so you will probably only see $17.5k of your $35k bonus. you may get some back at tax time.

Does the time window for clerkship bonuses expire? That is, can you only get the bonus if you go straight from the clerkship to the firm, or can you detour briefly (gov, public interest, what have you)?

11:08 AM - 49.5%?? That seems a little high.

Kramer Levin pays $20k per year of clerkship and gives you credit for your class year, even if you clerk after coming to the firm first and then going to a clerkship.

anyone know what skadden is doing bonus-wise? i can't believe this isn't out there.

11:08 / 11:54

I recently received a bonus and was taxed at 43%, which was the "bonus tax rate" as I was told. That would yield $19950 of $35000. Hope this helps.

Re: 12:36

You still only pay your marginal rate on the bonus, it is just withheld differently.

W&C gives a $25k bonus, even to D.C. Circuit clerks.

WilmerHale D.C. only pays 20k --- cheapskates...

That is really disappointing about Winston. I was considering them, but ... that's just a slap in the face. Especially weird because they seemed to be making a big push for clerks....

Has anyone heard any buzz about Winston considering the raise? It seems odd that on the heels of S&C's announcement they put out a big media package encouraging clerks to apply, and have a special website section dedicated to clerks, yet are not going to raise to what seems to be the standard 35k.

Goodwin Procter recently went up to $35k for clerkship bonuses (plus class credit)

go back to work all you CLERKS!!!!

Everyone keeps focusing on Winston, what about Jenner, they are at 20. Any buzz about them raising to market in Chicago as well?

I don't know about Chicago, but my friend started at Jenner in DC in the Fall, and received a 10k bonus for fed dist ct clerkship.

Skadden is currently offering $35k

SKADDEN's at $35K, yet DAVIS POLK is only at $15K -- can anyone tell me how this makes sense?

Seriously, how are these gaps persisting?i have never seen anything other than trivial compensation gaps between the big new york shops. I don't see how firms like Davis Polk, PW and Cravath can claim elite pay when Sullivan pays 35k more to a one year clerk and Weil 40K more to a two year clerk. Those are huge spreads.

Right on 3:54pm. Anyone know if the big boys -- Cravath, Simpson Thacher, Davis Polk -- will match S&C soon?

By the way, Lat, you should put Skadden down at $35K. They raised it.

Hogan & Hartson was paying $35k to clerks in its Washington & Denver offices last year, I don't know about the others.

In case anyone needed proof on S&C, their website was recently updated to reflect that they are offering $50K to clerks:

http://www.sulcrom.com/careers/legalrecruiting/compensationbenefits/

Hogan & Hartson is at least $30k - maybe $35k, but I don't recall - for their DC office (at least this is what they told me when I deferred my offer to clerk for a year).

Looks like somebody from winston is reading the board - bonuses are at 35k per the website.

My guess is that they were 35k all along this year and the data posted was old.

Shearman & Sterling is $15K per year

Nice roundup.

Has anyone heard what Bingham McCutchen's clerkship bonus is?

Has anyone heard what Bingham McCutchen's clerkship bonus is?

Has anyone heard what Bingham McCutchen's clerkship bonus is?

Latham bumped up to 50k for 2008 -- check their website....