Skaddenfreude: Simpson Matches S&C's $50,000 Clerkship Bonus
Apparently Sullivan & Cromwell is no longer the only Biglaw shop paying a $50,000 clerkship bonus. According to multiple sources, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett -- which in January kicked off the latest round of base salary increases for associates -- has followed suit.
If S&C were the only member of the $50K club, competitor firms could afford not to follow suit. We agree with what this tipster had to say (prior to the Simpson Thacher match):
"What I gather from this general reluctance on the part of NY firms to match S&C's $50K clerkship bonus is that there's an emerging view within the legal market that S&C's decision to 'surge' their bonus rate is, in some sense, an anticipation that they're going to have a tough recruiting season this fall.""This clerkship bonus craze has nothing to do with clerks -- and anyone who thinks otherwise is mistaken. What firms do care about is a bunch of newbie 2Ls (who are a month or so away from wrapping up 1L year right now), with nothing more than a pedestrian understanding on how Firm A differs from Firm B, going to S&C's website and seeing that they offer $50K and then going to, say, Davis Polk's and seeing that they offer less than a third of that."
"My hunch is that if one more top firm matches S&C, then the rest will soon follow. The big question is who moves first -- and when."
We concur in this analysis. Now that Simpson has joined Sullivan & Cromwell, resisting the clerkship bonus trend will prove more difficult (at least for other top ten New York firms). Expect places like Cravath, Davis Polk, and Cleary Gottlieb to fall into line.
Have you heard of anyone else matching? Please email us (subject line: "Clerkship Bonus"). Thanks.
Earlier: Skaddenfreude: A Clerkship Bonus Special Report
(38) Comments
cmon folks -- let's pressure those firms to match!!
Yeaaaaaa I missed the pay raise talk... let's get the $$ flowing.
Loyola 2L read it and weep buddy
a month or so? not even! We're done with classes as of yesterday. only finals left. Bring on the interviews and summer associateships
wilmer raised to 35k
is that the max? in other words, if you do a district and coa clerkship do you get the same 50k?
When did Wilmer raise? I'm clerking right now and I accepted an offer a while ago
wilmer sent an email about the raise to current law clerks today.
The STB news is intriguing, but can anyone confirm the rumor that Skadden has replaced its current clerkship bonus with a booklet of Chipotle coupons? If so, I might need to rethink Davis Polk's offer of free parking at Shea (limit two games).
Hallelujah
One thing i wonder is this: is anybody going to pick a firm to work at based on a one time 15,000 difference in bonus?
Anyone have any thoughts/info on Weil's litigation dept. in NY?
I was told once by a Sullivan associate in an interview that he picked his firm based on the stationary. I couldn't tell he if he was kidding.
So yes, I do think plenty of people would pick a firm based on a 35k difference in New York bonuses.
7:08 - Do you have student loans?
$50,000 for working somewhere else, doing something else, with information you are sworn not to use?
let these firms dangle in the wind. firms should focus on paying people who actually work there.
7:08 - Do you have student loans?
re: Wilmer -- received email today.
7:22 - Someone picked Sullivan based on the fact that the office wasn't moving?
Before they became an LLP, S&C had some really beautiful stationary.
any thoughts on W&C or others bumping up...?
any thoughts on W&C or others bumping up...?
Is Jenner now the only major Chicago law firm that is not at 35k?
So Simpson went from a $15K bonus to a $50K bonus? That's a pretty big jump.
Once again, thanks Simpson, for the raises.
If a firm really wants to stand out to this current crop of 1Ls, soon-to-be-2Ls, they need to not only pay scale but be clear with their average billables.
I don't know any 1L talking about clerkship bonuses offered at firms. People did notice the base salary bump, but the next two questions are always working hours and partnership track average. Nothing else really matters (other than maybe vault "prestige").
One caveat: out here on the west coast there's quite a range in 1st year pay (135 to 160). I guess we do talk about that too, but most agree that 10k or so after taxes isn't worth an extra 300+ billable hours.
Skadden raised to 60K.
stationary = not moving
stationery = letterhead/paper
A T14 1L,
Somehow I think that the 1L market isn't their primary concern. Even the 1Ls who are supremely confident that they will be getting federal/state-supreme court clerkships in 2 years' time.
Having said that, as 7:08 points out, one wonders how many will make a decision on the basis of a one-time payment of 8% of a single year's compensation (incl. last year's 1st year bonus). On the other hand, if you think that Sullivan and STB on the one hand, and Cravath on the other, are pretty much fungible, then 35k difference (about 18%) might suffice.
Davis Polk only pays $15,000 for a clerkship bonus. They're so cheap. They better match the $50,000
50K bonus is unnecessarily high - it's not like clerks are necessarily any better associates than non-clerks...
my clerking days passed long ago, but it still shocks me to see how much Cravath has fallen as a compensation leader. when i was a clerk about 10 years ago, Cravath was ALWAYS the first big ny shop to raise salaries and bounses...
Anonymous, you're quite wrong about the benefits of having clerks. The reality is that many BigLaw lit. associates have no perspective about the practical nature of the judicial system and civil procedure. Having that knowledge saves the client money because the former clerk isn't always having to spend time looking up relatively rudimentary FRCPs and local rules. I came to BigLaw in NY after a clerkship and I've gotten great work and been on two trials, I am positive this a result of my clerking experience. With the exception of PW and Wachtell, many NY firms don't have a lot of clerks (compared to Big Law in DC) and now they are learning that clerking talent is a premium and that $15K isn't going to cut it. Still an unnecessary leap though, $35K would've been fine . . . better for us though!
What firms would count as the top 10?
What is W&C?
Plus, assuming that firms give clerks class credit because they actually *deserve* it, then even a $50k bonus is cheap. At the point a non-clerk is doing second-year work, the firm has paid them $160k + bonus to "train" them to the same level as an incoming one-year clerk; add another $170K plus bonus to "train" a third year non-clerk. If a post-two-year clerk steps in and can actually work like a third year, it seems like a great deal for firms: well over $300k in salary v. one-time $50k bonus.
How did people find out that STB raise? Did it send out letters to those clerks?
did skadden really raise to 60?
Down here among the SDNY clerks at 500 Pearl St, the would-be Davis Polk associates are getting darned antsy. I'd be shocked if all firms did not follow to 50k.
Will Ropes match, now that Wilmer has gone to 35k for all offices, applicable to current clerks starting in the fall? Seems like they need to in order to avoid embarrassment/resentment/discontent...
Jenner has raised to $35K as well - at least in DC. A friend of mine just got an offer.
any word on skadden?