Last

Fiiiiiiirst!

Last

Still waiting on the confirmation for Shearman, Billy

Willkie is awesome

That is great that they are giving the staff a bonus as well. Shows real character. If I had the opportunity to go to willkie i would

I like the staff bonus - good to spread goodwill around the office.

Oh yeah, and Dewey did indeed just match, according to a friend there. No idea where the memo is tho.

Bonus List of Shame

2008 Vault Rank / Firm / 2005 RPL (if known)
1
2
3 Sullivan & Cromwell LLP / $1,627,000
4 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom / $997,000
5
6
7
8 Latham & Watkins LLP / $875,000
9 Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP / $954,000
10 Covington & Burling LLP / $774,000
11 Kirkland & Ellis LLP / $987,000
12
13
14 Shearman & Sterling LLP / $992,000
15 Wilmer Cutler / 846,000
16 Williams & Connolly LLP /
17 Sidley Austin LLP / $774,000
18 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP / $1,011,000
19 O'Melveny & Myers LLP / $828,000
20 White & Case LLP / $600,000
21 Arnold & Porter LLP / $816,000
22 Jones Day / 602,000
23 Morrison & Foerster LLP / $735,000
24
25 Clifford Chance LLP /
26 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft / $940,000
27 Hogan & Hartson LLP / $735,000
28 Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP / $750,000
29 Fried, Frank, / $891,000
30 Ropes & Gray LLP / 841,000
31 Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker / $766,000
32
33 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP / $779,000
34 Winston & Strawn LLP / $718,000
35 Dewey & L LLP / $782,000
36 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati / $752,000
37 Linklaters /
38 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe / 767,000
39 Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP /
40 Proskauer Rose LLP / $745,000
...
...
55. (Cahill Matched)

If they are paying market bonus in DC, surely NY salaries have to go up.

Son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!

If Dewey in the Buff did actually match, that's great for them. But they should have tried to do something more dramatic if they really want be legitimized as a major player in the wake of the merger.

Rank 2006 in revenue
by revenue Revenue per lawyer
per lawyer Firm Per Lawyer from 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Wachtell ABOVE MARKET $2,455,000 2.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Sullivan & Cromwell $1,565,000 1.3%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 Wiley Rein $1,520,000 162.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Cravath MARKET $1,355,000 5.9%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Davis Polk MARKET $1,200,000 4.8%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Simpson Thacher-MARKET $1,200,000 6.7%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 McKee Nelson $1,190,000 1.7%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8 Milbank, Tweed MARKET $1,110,000 10.4%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 Skadden $1,095,000 10.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 Cahill Gordon MARKET $1,075,000 8.6%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11 Fragomen, Del Rey $1,070,000 26.6%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 Gibson, Dunn $1,050,000 4.0%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 Irell & Manella $1,050,000 9.9%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 Kirkland & Ellis PUNTED $1,035,000 5.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 Paul, Weiss MARKET $1,035,000 0.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 Munger, Tolles $1,025,000 18.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 Quinn Emanuel $1,020,000 28.3%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
18 Shearman & Sterling $1,010,000 2.0%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 Debevoise & Plimpton MARKET $1,005,000 8.6%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 Cadwalader $1,000,000 6.4%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 Boies, Schiller $980,000 3.2%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 Weil, Gotshal $980,000 2.6%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 Cleary Gottlieb MARKET $975,000 7.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24 Willkie Farr MARKET $970,000 12.8%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
25 Williams & Connolly $955,000 2.7%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
26 Finnegan, Henderson $945,000 11.2%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 Townsend and Townsend $940,000 6.2%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28 Fried, Frank $930,000 4.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
29 Schulte Roth $925,000 6.9%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 Latham & Watkins $920,000 5.1%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31 Wilmer Cutler $890,000 5.3%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
32 McDermott Will $875,000 12.9%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33 Kaye Scholer $865,000 7.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34 Arnold & Porter $855,000 4.9%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34 Ropes & Gray $855,000 1.8%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36 Choate, Hall $850,000 10.4%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
36 Kramer Levin $850,000 6.3%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
38 Heller Ehrman $845,000 5.0%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
39 Akin Gump $840,000 7.7%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Hughes Hubbard $835,000 12.1%

NEW-YORK MAR-KET! CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

NEW-YORK MAR-KET! CLAP CLAP CLAPCLAPCLAP

Prediction - SullCrom, Skadden or Covington will announce very late (next week) and set a new bar by matching boni and raising base to $165K in NY only.

No 190. =(

5:37 - covington? give me a break

It's hard to believe salaries were at 120 only a few years ago.

Skadden always raises ALL offices, or none, as far back as I can remember.

5:37 - That would be stupid. The whole purpose of raising base pay is to separate New York from other markets in recruiting. If they raise base pay $5K, other markets will be likely to match.

For the "Bonus List of Shame," could Kirkland get an * ?

5:37 = covington troll

dewey just matched

Base to 210K! And a match...c'mon Skadden!

What about DLA?

What about the [Johnnie] Cochran Firm?

White & Case is refusing to match. Resumes are being dusted off.

Dewey just called from Pebble Beach. He said he didn't grab your ass.

What does Jones Day do?! I know they don't disclose anything and have some goofy system ... but do they pay attention to all this and act accordingly, or what?

If you're from White & Case, there are more reasons to dust off your resume than their refusing to match bonuses.

I'm sorry but as generous as Cravath was, clearly they didn't raise boni enough. One of the V10s that hasn't announced yet should either raise boni another 10-15k or keep this bonus structure and raise base by 20k+

553 - I don't really think you get it. all firms are going to pay us just enough and not any more than they have to. everyone was happy when they heard about the bonuses (well accept those at a non-NY office of a v10 firm not based in NYC), that was the presumably the point. i doubt the associates at cravath are pissed cuz others are matching. instead, they're probably shopping for their porsche. i think the last round of raises taught us that this isn't about these firms seperating from their peers. it's simply about doing the bare minimum to keep the associates happy enough. and no happier.

Jones Day will match for middle ground (average bonus) and pay superstars above, and slackers below. Merit based like K&E.

The plural of "bonus" is "bonuses." "Boni" are a bunch of Romans, an Indonesian state, a guerrilla leader, or a language.

5:53, what makes you say Cravath hasn't raised boni enough? Seems substantial to me.

My prediction is that the hold-outs are considering raising bases for 3rd years and up, to address retention issues. The whole idea of throwing huge raises to newly-minted attorneys who haven't even had a chance to do anything for their firms just can't go on.

It's been said, but it bears repeating:

WF, having (1) extended the new bonuses to DC associates and (2) promised a little something extra for its support staff, has distinguished itself as THE class act of this eventful week.

I'm (happily) heading to a Chicago office after graduation next year, so I'm just an impressed onlooker. But golly, were I interested in any of the cities in which WF has an office, it would be my #1 choice.

6:05, you forgot to mention that "Boni" also refers to a plurality of boners, ie, a sausage fest, or a typical biglaw firm.

"Jones Day...Merit based like K&E."

6:04, you just gave me the biggest laugh I've had in a while. Thanks!

Actually, it's not "id est, a sausage fest...," but "e.g."

NY to human decency.

Indeed, Willkie is a class act for giving bonuses to support staff. They certainly deserve it.

Brown & Wood just matched!!

1. Sidley took over Brown and Wood in 2003 and Sidley has not matched.

give me a break about willkie being a class act. many firms give bonuses to staff. nothing new about it. they are just acknowledging it in their associate bonus memo. whoopteedoo.

The post above misunderstands. Willkie's special bonus to its staff is an ADDITIONAL bonus on top of the regular year-end bonus given to its staff, which, as the post above noted, is typically given by every firm.

Boni for lazy support staff types means less money for us! I'd rather the partners keep it, inflate PPP by a couple of bucks, and increase pressure for next year.

Even if Brown & Wood was still around, they wouldn't be able to afford to match.

You heard me. Kneel before Zod.

537

What is Covington?

Thanks, in advance.

Lat,
Please do a post about how New Jersey "big" firms pay disgustingly low salaries and effectively no bonuses (i.e. for 2200 hours you get like 5k) and how no one with the ability to work in NY would work in NJ for what is really now about 1/2 pay. NJ firms need to increase pay and bonuses by tens of thousands of dollars and lower the hours minimum or face an exodus in light of the NY salary increases.

Willkie just started matching DC salaries to NYC 2 years ago. They consider the entire U.S. presence (only DC and NYC) as a single integrated firm. It doesn't mean anything to the DC market that the Willkie DC office gets the NYC market, which Willkie has followed for many years.

CHICAGO-BASED FIRMS:

Lat-- You posted the Kirkland memo, but that was not enlightening. Have other Chicago firms matched (Sidley Austin, McDermott or Mayer Brown)?

MEMORANDUM TO ALL ASSOCIATES AT NON-LOCKSTEP FIRMS

To: All Associates at Non-Lockstep Firms
From: Livin La Vida Lockstep!
Date: November 3, 2007

RE: Bonus and Special Bonus

As you know, bonuses are ordinarily determined by non-lockstep firms using a system that lacks transparency. Rumors circulate among naive associates that bonuses are determined in smoke-filled rooms by partners who take the time to consider your billable work, pro bono contributions, recruiting efforts, business development, etc. If you only knew....

This has been an extraordinarily profitable year for non-lockstep firms. As a result, to supplement the subjective sub-par bonus that you will receive in December, all non-lockstep firms will award special bonuses as follows:

Class of 2006: $5 Starbucks giftcard
Class of 2005: $10 Starbucks giftcard
Class of 2004: $15 Starbucks giftcard
Class of 2003: $20 Starbucks giftcard
Class of 2002: $25 Starbucks giftcard
Class of 2001: $30 Starbucks giftcard
Class of 2000: $35 Starbucks giftcard

On behalf of the partnerships at your respective non-lockstep law firms, I would like to extend our thanks to you for performing inadequately in law school. Had you been a hard worker and attended a well-regarded law school, we would be forced to pay you a market bonus.

Enjoy your Nonfat Caramel Lattes!

Sincerely,
Management Committee

What do you mean, 5:52?? Please explain.

Hello - is Colvington a law firm? or is that one of those accounting firms?

Not familiar with them but I am a deal guy so maybe they are litigious firm.