YYYYEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!

thank you uncle K!!!

Jenner: here is your chance to match in an area that is highly valued by the firm. Please follow suit.

There's a rumor going around that K&E raised its clerkship bonus. Please drop everything you're doing and get us confirmation.

Latham and Gibson have no choice now.

Who else is paying 50K in Chicago for clerkship bonuses?

Thank you so much Lat!

Agreed. Latham & GDC are bound to follow now. And thanks Lat for following up with Kirkland.

So New York, Los Angles, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago firms have all stepped up.

Where's the Philadelphia firms?

Come on Sidley!

sidley and mayer... you're next!

As are Sidley and Mayer.

Bracewell raised Texas and DC salaries to 160/170.

Thanks Lat!!! Now call Mayer & Sidley!!

RE: Bracewell

http://www.law.com/jsp/tx/PubArticleTX.jsp?id=1185354185976

Hey Latham... yeah you... you're suspect!

But No DC based firm pays more than 35k to clerks right?

Wish all big firms would pay attention and at least realize when they are embarrassingly out of the range (if not fix the problem).

To my employer come September: Obviously you know I didn’t choose you for your clerkship bonus. But don't think that I wasn't recruited by other firms that are not so damn cheap, that recognize value added, and that reward advance commitment.

If you lateral, and you have had a clerkship, can you demand the bonus? If not, why not?

3:30 do you mean a DC-based firm? OMM pays $50k now in DC.

Thanks David! Much appreciated!

Odd that this movement is happening now, after most current clerks have already decided where they are going this fall. Looks like these raises are happening with an eye toward 2Ls doing OCI, not clerks applying to firms. Food for thought, methinks.

Sad that this movement is not happening in DC in time for September.

Thanks, Lat!

If you REALLY want to move clerkship bonuses, you need to (1) get offers from firms that have different bonus levels, and (2) tell the cheap firm to ante up.

Why are lawyers such wusses? Why do we rely upon Lat to do our dirty work?

In the business world, people are much better (read: more aggressive) about negotiating their pay packages.

Sidley, Mayer, Winston, Jenner? I'm a federal AC clerk who hasn't committed yet..... please make this a hard choice.

I would be surprised if most firms don't match quickly. The clerkship bonus is relatively inexpensive compared to salary increases (i.e. probably around an extra $180,000 per year for extra $15K times twelve clerks or so per firm). Moreover, they only have to pay it once to each clerk, since it isn't incorporated into an annual step increase in salary. Easy publicity and not worth being shamed after already jumping to the $160K on base salary.

Even if clerks have "committed", they can choose another firm--they have not yet accepted money (which they could pay back anyway) and there are no employment contracts. And a lot of clerks haven't committed yet.

But that's a minor point. Also a minor point: Latham does not "have to" pony up now, but it would be wise for it to do so. If for no other reasons than morale and public image/reputation.

Excellent points 4:07

Shouldn't Quinn Emanuel be publicly shamed here a la Latham?

If they are such militant compensationistas (e.g., first in CA to 160), why are they still at $35K? Federal clerkship >>> EE degree.

Thank you, Lat. Much appreciated.

i hope that Wilmer or Hogan raises in DC to 50k..then my firm will raise.

What is the deal with Latham? Can anyone provide any insight as to why they are the only firm in their tier not to raise their clerkship bonuses?

Covington is DC based and pays $50K.
Come on Kramer Levin!

i thought cov was $50 only in NY

I'm a clerk who hasn't yet decided where to go.... Yeah, I should probably get on top of that, but this information is very helpful. Thanks a lot for making the call.

Maybe Latham is waiting to leapfrog everyone this month now that Kirkland has announced its clerkship bonus raise. I'd hop on that train in a second.

Now, the V10 only has two firms not paying $50k . . . WLRK (which can get away with it) and Latham (which cannot). Boo!

Where is Quinn?

Jenner should match quickly.

Clerkship Bonuses (as of 7/25/07)

The $50k List (* denotes $50k/$70k):
2. Cravath*
3. SullCrom*
4. Skadden*
5. Davis Polk
6. STB
7. Cleary
9. Weil*
10. Kirkland
12. Paul Weiss*
13. Debevoise*
20. OMM
21. White & Case
23. MoFo
25. Ropes & Gray (NY only)*
29. Fried Frank
37. Wilkie Farr
54. LeBoeuf*
55. Cahill
NR. Patterson Belknap

The LIST OF SHAME:
1. Wachtell ($0)
8. Latham ($35k)
11. Covington ($35k outside NY)
14. Wilmer ($35k)
15. Shearman ($15k)
16. Sidley ($35k)
17. Williams & Connolly ($35k)
18. Gibson ($35k)
19. Arnold ($15k $35k)
22. Jones Day ($35k)
24. Hogan ($35k)
25. Ropes & Gray ($35K outside NY but $70K for 2yr clerkship)

C'mon Latham, you can do it!

Put Jenner ($35k) on the list of shame.

Lat, I think I speak for many current clerks when I say: (1) thanks for disseminating this information, and (2) keep it up, so that those of us starting at firms outside NYC within a few months can benefit from a fast-moving non-NYC-to $50k market!

Paul Hastings should be on the $50/70k list.

Put Quinn (NR, $35K) on the list.

Paul Hastings is even paying $50k?!? Wow!

SUPER LIST OF SHAME:
8. Latham ($35k)

Clerkship Bonuses (as of 7/25/07)

The $50k List (* denotes $50k/$70k):
2. Cravath*
3. SullCrom*
4. Skadden*
5. Davis Polk
6. STB
7. Cleary
9. Weil*
10. Kirkland
12. Paul Weiss*
13. Debevoise*
20. OMM
21. White & Case
23. MoFo
25. Ropes & Gray (NY only)*
29. Fried Frank
30. Paul Hastings
37. Wilkie Farr
54. LeBoeuf*
55. Cahill
NR. Patterson Belknap

The LIST OF SHAME:
1. Wachtell ($0)
8. Latham ($35k)
11. Covington ($35k outside NY)
14. Wilmer ($35k)
15. Shearman ($15k)
16. Sidley ($35k)
17. Williams & Connolly ($35k)
18. Gibson ($35k)
19. Arnold ($15k $35k)
22. Jones Day ($35k)
24. Hogan ($35k)
25. Ropes & Gray ($35k outside NY but $70k for 2yr clerkship)
27. Mayer Brown ($35k)
48. Jenner
NR. Quinn ($35k)

Lat: email Jenner and find out when they are going to raise!

6:37 - Why the surprise? If OMM, Latham or Gibson does it, PHJW will match. That's the driving compensation philosophy.

8:47 - makes sense, but why haven't GDC or Latham matched yet? I would've expected one of those two to have matched OMM before Paul Hastings.

Add Winston & Strawn to the list of shame too. This is particularly relevant to them since they seem to be aggressively targeting clerks.

I'm currently a federal appellate clerk and all of my co-clerks and I received info-packets from Winston suggesting we check them out.

If the firm won't even match market for clerkship bonuses when another firm in their own home turf (Kirkland) offers $50k, it suggests that they value clerks enough to spend money on postage for recruiting material but not as much as other firms in the area.

9:31 - Recruiting sends that info-packet crap to everyone, including candidates the firm would probably not hire.

6:10 - When did Paul Hastings go up to $50K?? I hadn't heard that...

OK - so what's the probability that Latham matches by this Friday? Or at all? I really wonder about their delay and mental block in thinking that $35k + $13k bar stipend does equals a $50k clerkship bonus . . . Of course, OMM and others pay the stipend and $50k. . . I know clerks are not entitled to any of this, and the fact (and amount) of all the recent raises in the last 12 months is mindboggling (NY to $190 = wow). It's a business decision on Latham and GDC's part and they can value clerks however they want, but what clerk doesn't want to get paid at least the same as his or her peers at other firms?

I don't believe that Latham was seriously saying it was paying a $50k clerkship bonus because of its $35k + $13k bar stipend. That can't have been an official statement. It must have been made by a mistaken recruiting coordinator. Right? Otherwise, wow.

9:01 - Matching GDC, OMM and LW is PHJW's compensation philosophy. I don't know what GDC or LW's compensation philosophy is. "Pay as little as we can while still pretending to be the market leader in CA," I would imagine.

PHJW is driving to break into the big three and is doing all it can to attract laterals and to pay associates what it needs to do to make that move. It's the difference between playing offense and defense. Of course, it's still a conservative law firm, so they aren't willing to set the standard in compensation. Though during the previous round of raises, second-years made $5k more at PHJW than the other CA based firms, so you can thank PHJW for that bump.

Kirkland should get an asterisk, since they will consider going above $50K for a someone with two years of clerkship experience, which probably means that they will match any other firm's offer to that clerk of $70K.

No, Latham was perfectly serious in making that statement to a number of clerk applicants and offer holders. My co-clerk got that line and heard it from 4 other clerks too. Before, it sounded like an excuse to stay at $35k when other firms were there too. Now, with peers at $50k, that claim cannot be made with a straight face. But, they may raise soon. . . who knows.

it's embarrassing that PHJW is at $50k and LW is still at $35k...

Jenner, Jenner, who can I turn to?
You don't know me but you [could] make me so happy [if you raised your clerkship bonus to 50k].
(8-6-7-5-3-0-9)
Jenner, Jenner, who can I turn to?
For the price of a [50k bonus] I can always turn to you.

10:40--my co-clerk got that line too. They're thinking of heading somewhere else because worried the firm will respond similarly as to other aspects of employment and progression when they're at the firm. It's not the 15k, really, but the way they are not meeting market and hiding behind a disingenuous excuse. But maybe Latham will raise soon. They're still wary.

I need advice: If I already have accepted an offer from a firm that is giving a 35k clerkship bonus (one listed on the "list of shame"), should I still call them and ask if they are going to raise to 50k? It's not like I have any bargaining power at this point, but I'd sure like it if they raised.

11:32 - you should definitely call and ask. What's the harm? I have an offer from a firm that's at $35 and I plan to do the same.

11:37: I would be very interested in hearing what the firm says. I guess the potential harm is that you get a reputation as being money grubbing before you even start working there. P.S. is your firm in Chicago, by chance?

I'm glad that I'm not the only one surprised (and upset) that Latham hasn't matched.

If Latham matches, will that be enough to start a domino effect that goes all the way to Jenner?

11:32 you should definately call and find out. As for the person singing the Jenner song, they should match because Jenner places strong emphasis on hiring judicial clerks

From another forum:
"It is relatively cheap for other firms to match this raise, less than $200,000 per year for the whole firm, which is cheap compared to salary raises. The big firms only have to pay about $15K more times a dozen or so incoming clerks. And it's a one-time payment, since it isn't incorporated into future annual step increases like salary is. I can't imagine most firms that raised to $160K and took a huge hit will not make the marginal extra payment to stay tops in market across the board."

I'm singing the Jenner song, but here is my issue: current clerkships are ending soon. Some withing the next couple of weeks. That means the bonus will follow days after that. Will Jenner raise soon enough that it will matter for current clerks? If they raise to 50k after paying the 35k will they make up the difference latter?

1:28 - my concerns exactly. As a current clerk whose clerkship will soon be ending, I will be very upset if my firm doesn't match . . . and soon. You hear that firms? It's the sound of my resume going out next week to firms who compensate at market rate.

And, Jenner took sooooo long to match the 160k salary that I'm thinking they're going to drag their feet on this.

From Latham's web site:
"Generally, Latham & Watkins awards partnership progression credit plus $35,000 and a $13,333 bar study bonus to clerks at federal courts"
THAT IS SO LAME! I mean, actually emphasizing the (odd amount of) $13,333 really draws attention to how they are trying to get the benefit of being in the 50k club without really having to give out the 50k. But what an obviously cheap trick. It's like they're saying "look, we sort of offer a $48,333 clerkship bonus, which is pretty close to 50k, so give us a break." That is shameful.

Kramer Levin has gone to $50K.
-tipster with an offer