"NY190" Someone make a website, t-shirts, mugs, etc.

Not again with the 190 in NY. Seriously, it is by choice that you're (planning on) working in a location where the cost of living is higher. You could easily choose to work somewhere else. A McDonald's employee in NY is not getting paid significantly more than a McDonald's employee in Oklahoma, so get over it.

12:27 - i bet they are, especially since the minimum wage in NY is higher.

If Gibson goes to 160 firmwide, it will really turn up the heat in DC. Kirkland DC, which uses its generous compensation as a major recruiting tool, will have to match a major competitor like Gibson. And of course, Kirkland DC cannot go up without other offices (such as Chicago) going up too. Sidley will have to match. Gibson could be the domino that leads to DC and Chicago finally matching.

Not to mention that the McDs NYC employee gets to fill more interesting orders for higher-profile customers and can more easily lateral to BK or even KFC.

GGG (go gibson go!)

12:27, why are you and so many so angry about NY associates making noise for NY 190? Don't you think the recent bout of raises in CA has something to do with the fact that some NY based firms raised salaries in NY and all other offices including their NY offices. Therefore, you should be advocating for a further NY raise too as it might end up with you getting more money. We all deserve to be paid more considering that PPP in many lg NY shops have doubled since 2000 - the peak of the last boom - while associate salary has only risen by about 28% in salary (and I believe the bonuses were actually bigger in 2000 for many top NY firms than they were in 2006 so total compensation has not risen by that much). So, while you may not agree that NY deserves more, shouldn't you advocate for any position that could benefit you as well. NY has tended to be the market leader, so lets all advocate that they lead again.

Fine! NY 175.

t-shirts available at

www.ny175NOW.com

12:27, why are you and so many other thos posters, likely NY associates, that are making noise for NY 190? Don't you think the recent bout of raises in CA has something to do with the fact that some NY based firms raised salaries in NY and all other offices including their NY offices. Therefore, you should be advocating for a further NY raise too as it might end up with you getting more money. We all deserve to be paid more considering that PPP in many lg NY shops have doubled since 2000 - the peak of the last boom - while associate salary has only risen by about 28% in salary (and I believe the bonuses were actually bigger in 2000 for many top NY firms than they were in 2006 so total compensation has not risen by that much). So, while you may not agree that NY deserves more, shouldn't you advocate for any position that could benefit you as well. NY has tended to be the market leader, so lets all advocate that they lead again.

"PPP in many lg NY shops have doubled since 2000 - the peak of the last boom - while associate salary has only risen by about 28% in salary"

Would you expect anything more generous from the baby boomers who now manage these firms? The same generation that wages a war that is primarily being paid for by the younger generations? "shut up 20-something slacker, one day you'll thank us for this"

12:34 PM - LOL, for da win!

12:34, excellent analysis

12:38, if New York associates (like you) expect to get paid 190K right out of law school, they should probably learn to (a) spell correctly; (b) not omit key words from their writing; and (c) construct sentences using proper grammar and punctuation.

"We all deserve to be paid more"

Oh come on. I'm as full of myself as the next overpaid junior associate, but give me a fucking break. No one our age deserves the money we're making, and no one deserves the money the partners are making. Until lawyers start discovering the cures for cancer, AIDS, and world hunger, we'll always be overpaid paper monkeys.

Being a big firm lawyer is like the biggest racket this side of RICO. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making more money, but I'm under no ridiculous illusions that I "deserve" it.

Gibson is meeting at 4 p.m. What time zone?

12:27: Mortal Kombat on Sega Genesis is the best video game ever.

12:38: I disagree--it's a very good game, but I think Donkey Kong is the best game ever.

12:27: Donkey Kong sucks!

12:38: Oh yeah, well, you know something? YOU SUCK!

1:12, since they're an LA firm, I'm guessing Pacific time.

Even if GDC raises in DC there's no guarantee that Kirkland DC follows. First, that office is a trainwreck, and has been hemorrhaging associates for 2 years with no response from the partners.

Second, the office is very *very* cheap. I wouldn't be surprised if they just said their bonuses (which are generous) make up for the deficit in base pay.

If Gibson and OMM raise, I imagine that Latham, DLA, and others would follow. Bonuses might suffer, but it seems that it would only be a matter of time before base salaries increase.

Please!!! DLA will hold off for as long as it can. If it does raise, the start date will probably be sometimes in the fall. The same goes for Paul Hastings and Cooley - those clowns are cheap when it comes to associate salaries.

I'd like to see any of these firms prove us wrong!!!

1:02 -- Are you serious? If so, please kill yourself. This is a blog, not a memo to the court. By the way, your use of semicolons was wrong as there weren't clauses containing internal punctuation. You should have used commas, you captain of the English language. The proper usages of semi-colons, and I credit wikipedia, are as follows. 1) Use a semicolon between closely related independent clauses not joined by a coordinating conjunction: "I went to the pool; I was informed that it was closed."
2) Use a semicolon between independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase or conjunctive adverb: "I like to eat cows; however, they don't like to be eaten by me." 3) Use a semicolon between items in a series containing internal punctuation: "There are several Waffle Houses in Atlanta, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina; Pensacola, Florida; and Mobile, Alabama."

1:31 - Somehow I doubt that your throwing down the gauntlet on this board will encourage firms who can't afford it to step up and raise salaries.

I doubt that Paul Hastings has enough secretaries left to fire in order to raise salaries for associates a second time.

DLA, however, is an enigma. Their transactional associates down here in L.A. have some of the highest rates in the city (first year billing rates start at $300/hour, fifth years are billed out at as much as $490/hour) and their L.A. corporate/real estate practice is one of the most lucrative practices in the country for the firm. Lit, though, with exceptions for a few partners' groups, is running well below capacity and while still profitable by a layman's definition of the term, is draining firmwide PPP. I doubt they'll want to add further divides among associates (like they did with IP/non-IP) and so they're going to get stuck deciding whether to lose talented transactional midlevels who are now making as much as $40k/year less than they could across the street, or hurt their overall numbers by throwing money at a struggling practice group.

Cooley may be in a better position to raise than either of the other two mentioned, given that they have fewer small market offices to worry about and have been able to raise their rates substantially in the last two years without losing too many clients.

Please Mr. Madison, there are no penguins!

1:12, since they're an LA firm, I'm guessing Pacific time.

Associate salaries seem obscene until you compare them to the salaries of our counterparts who work at clients that can afford to pay big firm rates. Few people work harder than big firm lawyers.

Jack has joined the Others.

1:24 re kirkland "trainwreck"

more info please on why kirkland DC is a trainwreck and why you say it's cheap? inquiring minds want to know.

thanks.

I don't think DLA has any choice but to raise eventually. Hopefully they won't water down bonuses too much.

Latham just matched O'Melveny!

2:13, just because other people make obscene amounts of money, doesn't mean they deserve it either.

Greedy American pig-dogs!! I blow my nose at you!! Your mothers were hamsters and your fathers smelled of elderberries!!

latham has raised

From: Kelly, Anne Marie (SF)
Sent: Tuesday, May 08, 2007 11:26 AM
To: #LA ALL ASSOCIATES; #OC ASSOCIATES; #SD ASSOCIATES; #SF ASSOCIATES; #SV ASSOCIATES; #CH ASSOCIATES; #NJ ASSOCIATES; #NV ASSOCIATES; #DC ASSOCIATES

Cc: #ALL L&W OF COUNSEL; #ALL L&W PARTNERS; Black, LeeAnn (NY)
Subject: Associate Compensation
Sensitivity: Confidential

MEMORANDUM
May 8, 2007

CONFIDENTIAL

To: California, Chicago, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Associates
From: Associates Committee
File no: 900000-0008
Copies to: Partners and Of Counsel; LeeAnn Black
Subject: Associate Compensation

We are pleased to announce increases in associate salaries in each of our California, Chicago, New Jersey, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. offices. Effective May 1, 2007, associates salaries in these offices are as follows:

CALIFORNIA, CHICAGO, NEW JERSEY, NORTHERN VIRGINIA AND
WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICES

Class Year Former Base Compensation Base Compensation Effective May 1, 2007
1st Year $145,000 $160,000
2nd Year $155,000 $170,000
3rd Year $170,000 $185,000
4th Year $190,000 $210,000
5th Year $210,000 $230,000
6th Year $225,000 $250,000
7th Year $240,000 $265,000
8th Year $250,000 $280,000

Associate paychecks issued May 18, 2007 will reflect these increases and the retroactive adjustment.

This is going to be hard on the big D.C.-based firms. A total raise of $35k ($125 to $160) in less than six months, at a firm with an associate-partner ratio of, say, 3 to 1, means $100,000 a year less in take home for the partners. That's not bad for NY firms, or a few others, like Latham, but for a firm with PPP in the $800k to $1.1 million range (many DC firms), that's a major hit. Don't get me wrong--I don't feel bad for the partners and think the associates deserve the money--but it makes me wonder if some of them will cut back on their pro-bono work (a major recruiting draw for law students headed to D.C.) in favor of more paying hours.

Can someone confirm 2:40? Didn't LW just announce they'd be dragging their feet until the end of the month?

2:50 - A point of clarity: most large DC Firms were at 135k before the raises at the beginning of the year (not 125k).

I can confirm the pay raise. The memo above is accurate.

Latham is confirmed. Let's take the talk to the new thread:

http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/05/west_coast_pay_raise_watch_lat_1.php

Does anyone know if Latham is going to raise its clerkship bonus to $50K?