190th

First at last!

S&C is moving in the right direction when attempting to address compression issues. If salaries are going to go up, they should start raising them in the 3, 4, 5 & 6 year ranges and giving greater bonuses to high performers. Students interviewing at firms are very aware of their future projected salaries/bonuses (assuming they stay at the firm) and will select a firm where they will be well-compensated in the future. (The only students who look solely at base salaries in their first and second years are the students who only want to work for 1-2 years and who are thus naturally interested in making the most money possible during that time before leaving. Are these short-termers really the associates that firms want to be catering to?) Increasing starting salaries but then compressing mid to senior salaries is silly: Firms will lose people just at the point that they become profitable for the firm and a real asset to clients.

why do you all think it is funny to write "first"?

writing 'first' is not funny. can we stop this stupid practice please?

I answered "Negative" (but not "Very Negatively") to the poll.

The Charney case isn't a serious issue, but it does reduce S&C in dignity a little.

Is the Charney case really affecting S&C's recruiting?

why do some lawyers feel the need to live up to the general stereotype of being humorless jerks? If your time was really that important, you wouldn't be reading this blog in the first place.

"First" isn't funny, but it is fun.

Can't we all enjoy meaningless diversions without it being related to salary increases or law firm scandals?

Would the firm shave off some of the year-end-bonus, knowing that the supplemental bonus is around the corner?

"95% of the associates we lose we’re sorry to see go"

Well, until they're up for partner (and more or less unmarketable for partnership-track jobs elsewhere).

If saying "first" isn't fun in its own right, it's probably fun because it seems to annoy so many people. You're feeding the fire by complaining.

2000 Bonuses:

Class of 1999: $40,000
Class of 1998: $50,000
Class of 1997: $60,000
Class of 1996: $70,000
Class of 1995: $80,000
Class of 1994: $90,000
Class of 1993+: $100,000

Cravath PPP 2000 - $2,111,000
Cravath PPP 2006 - $3,015,000

Just saying...

Is Friggity First more annoying?

Good.

The idea that the repuation of a world renowned firm has been tarnished on the by the protestations of an insignificant little queer is laughable...

^ not if you're an insignificant little queer.

^and not if you're friends with lots of insignificant little queers.

@ Reality Check (4:19) -

Why is it that a senior associate who goes up for partner at firm A but is passed over becomes "unmarketable" for partnership-track jobs at other firms? Even at firms lower on the Vault ladder?

Yes, even at firms lower on the Vault ladder. A senior associate who has no prospects of bringing in business and who has no backers at his/her own firm not only won't make partner there but is not likely to make partner anywhere else.

In principle, S&C's attempt to provide additional incentive to Senior Associates should have some impact. It demonstrates that the firm values SAs (who are extremely productive) and wants to keep them around. The fact that it's based on the firm's performance also makes sense: it treats SAs like partners to a certain degree, which is, after all, the status that SAs are encouraged to strive for.

What's so damned mind-blowingly thick-headed about this is the niggardly sum involved. An extra $15-20k isn't going to encourage any SA to stick around. Start doubling the multiple, it could sway some people. This, therefore, looks like an incredibly cynical PR stunt. It's really a self-inflicted wound by S&C and lays bare the amazing greed and short-sightedness of Management.

The real reason I view S&C more negativity after charneygate has nothing to do with homophobia and everything to do with an unpleasant work environment.

Think about it. Associates work brutal hours and have no personal life in most top NYC firms. Throw people casually treating you like shit into the mix, which appears to be tolerated at S&C, and would I work there? Hell no.

If I have to work till 11 each night, I at least want some occasional "gee I'm sorry you're here so late" lip service. I don't want people throwing docs on the ground and instructing me to pick them up, or screaming at me.

The fact that several partners seemed to view shitting all over associates as some kind of bizarre perk of the job strikes me as saying a lot about the place's culture.

Being civil costs the firm nothing.

Agree with 8:25 and 9:48. SAs in their 7th & 8th years are probably close to their mid thirties and have families, including small children. Its one thing to give a 1st or 2nd year who is fresh out of law school an extra $10-15K he can apply towards his student loans but giving an 7th or 8th year $8K after taxes doesn't seem like it's going to stop those individuals who would otherwise leave dead in his tracks. Some might leave for better money elsewhere but some also leave because they like to see their kids more often. Getting a few extra bucks is always good though if you were going to stay at your job anyway but as a revolutionary incentive to keep over-worked SAs at the firm... this seems like a PR ploy.

Doesn't S&C lose over 30% of their associates after bonus season every year? The mass exodus is probably more due to the fact that it is a miserable place to work where partners throw documents on the floor and ask associates to bend over and pick them up and not due to the fact that everyone is leaving for an extra $10-12K after taxes (what the new SA bonus structure would pay out).

I agree with 8:25 and 9:48. If they want to institute profit sharing, they should share some actual profits -- as it is, partners would lose about $25,000 each off their $2 million plus paydays. It's insulting.

As for S&C culture, they do not value associates -- partners think associates are lucky to be treated like crap by them.

From the "roomer mill" -- word on the street is that Davis Polk is following S&C with a similar senior associate bonus pool. Anyone have hard evidence? Lat, can you look into this?