“We are officially in the thick of Biglaw bonus season, with firms rushing to show their appreciation to hardworking associates with some cold, hard cash. Money may not buy happiness, but it sure will help you pay down your students loans. The latest firm to announce their associate bonus,” reports Kathryn Rubino in their Above The Law.

“Both the annual and special variety, is Baker McKenzie. In the grid below, you can see that not only is Baker McKenzie matching the year-end and special bonuses for the class of 2020 and more senior but they are also offering a 25 percent premium on both if associates hit the 2300-hour threshold. Noticeably off this grid. The Class of.”

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“Biglaw’s been out there throwing around money to associates in the face of a busy year and a hot lateral market. But they aren’t the only ones with big money to share. Kaplan Hecker & Fink, an elite litigation boutique founded only a few years ago by Roberta Kaplan,  announced their own bonuses. And,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law

“Even adding in the special bonuses some firms are giving out, the numbers at Kaplan Hecker are better.  And though the firm is young, this isn’t the first time the firm has beaten the market. In memory of extended members of the firm, they’ll be matching donations to the St. John’s Family Center. Plus Kaplan Hecker is going to match up.”

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“Money, money, money, and much more money: That seems to be the theme this week throughout Biglaw, as bonus announcements are made one after the other, ad infinitum, in the wake of Davis Polk’s match with the addition of special bonuses for all associates. This is now the new market bonus,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law

“Law firms are quickly lining up to make their matches. After all, this lateral market is still hot like fire, so firms need to prove that they’re up to snuff and fast. The latest firm to speak up on bonuses is Shearman & Sterling, which made its announcement just before 6 p.m. last night. Of course the firm matched market, and here’s the 2021 bonus.”

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“Thanks to Davis Polk’s long-awaited announcement, the Biglaw bonus levees have officially been breached, and law firms are making their own bonus announcements left and right. Watch out for the flood of cash that’s about to flow through the legal profession. Debevoise Plimpton a firm that brought in,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“A firm that brought in $1,224,942,000 gross revenue in 2020, putting it at 31 in the most recent Am Law 100 made its own bonus announcement this afternoon. Lo and behold, the firm has matched both the Cravath bonus scale and the Davis Polk special bonus scale. According to the memo sent to all associates, here’s what that looks like.”

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“The current Biglaw lateral market is overwhelming. There are more variables influencing associates career planning and strategic decision making than ever before.  A byproduct is that getting started on a lateral search can be intimidating.  My goal here is to advise you on how to take the first few steps,” reports Above The Law in their blog.

“Because the way in which you target and contact firms can hugely influence your ability to make a change. Below is a list of factors I encourage you to consider, and a quality recruiter will view each as an opportunity to maximize the likelihood of attractive offers. Take advantage of active markets like this one to at least do your diligence.”

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“Since we broke the news of the market bonus scale for associates at large law firms in the United States a trend started on Monday, November 22, 2021 — several firms quickly fell in line and matched the scale. The rest seem to be waiting for another firm to enter the scene ahem, Davis Polk and,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“As usual, we are compiling a table of all the firms that have already matched the new bonus scale, whether special bonuses are or were included, the minimum hours required to receive those bonuses (if available), and the date those bonuses will be paid. Today, we unveil that table for your viewing pleasure. We will update this table on a daily.”

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“Aren’t you excited to head back to the office? Oh, you’re not. But don’t you remember all of the super important professional development and mentorship opportunities you had when your the was packed full of associates and partners? Oh, no, you don’t. You must’ve had so much fun though when,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Wouldn’t you be surprised to learn that Biglaw offices were never really that full to begin with before the pandemic? It sure sounds like law firm leaders have some explaining to do. Although many Biglaw firms are now mandating office work to return their highly animated in-person working environments that once pushed occupancy limits.”

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“It’s not every day that an ex-Biglaw partner is arrested on federal cyberstalking charges and accused of launching a campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats against his former partners, but here we are. Willie Dennis, 59, a former corporate partner at K&L Gates, was arrested last week in the,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Dominican Republic after allegedly sending an untold number of harassing, threatening, and intimidating emails and text messages to a number of people at the firm over the course of more than 18 months. The indictment against Dennis was unsealed this past Friday. Dennis, who is Black, was let go in May 2019, and he did not part.”

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“Cravath officially kicked off the 2021 bonus season yesterday afternoon, finally sweetening the pot by increasing its annual bonus offerings by up to 15% per class year. Now, another elite law firm has jumped to match the market rate as quickly as possible. Which firm is the first to match the official 2021,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The law.

“Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton is the first firm to hop on the Cravath bonus bandwagon. The firm is usually the first or second to match year-end bonuses, and 2021 is no different. Bonuses at the firm will be paid to all associates in good standing on December 22. Here’s the bonus scale, in case you’ve forgotten what it looks like.”

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“With the holidays approaching, now is a great time to reflect. Of course, the holidays are an opportunity to think about the important people in your life. Don’t forget to do that. But as we near the end of a very busy year for most Biglaw attorneys, you may also want to think a bit about yourself,” reports Lateral Link in their Above The Law.

“Okay, not literally. Holiday parties can sometimes be a lot of fun, but you know what’s better than being hosted at a holiday party? Having firms flatter you, court you, and maybe throw a six-figure signing bonus at you! Just as your inbox will soon be brimming with party invitations, there will be no shortage of firms seeking to host you if you.”

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“Thanks to the hot lateral market, Biglaw firms are handing out partnership offers like candy, perhaps as a way to keep their best associates from fleeing to another firm. Biglaw firms have continuously announced record partnership class sizes in response to the ongoing talent war, but one,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“It was just last year that Cravath boasted one of its largest partnership classes in recent memory and its most diverse partnership class in history by promoting 11 associates. This year, the firm returned to its old ways, inviting six associates to become members of its partnership. Cravath has had a 6.4 new partners per-year average over the.”

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“Big Law firms that have shared their hodgepodge of plans for bringing lawyers back to the office have one resounding commonality they’re letting attorneys work from home at least some of the time. Bloomberg Law reached out to the 100 largest firms in the U.S. by gross revenue about their firm,” reports Ruiqi Chen in Bloomberg Law.

“Our attorneys and our personnel deserve the flexibility, said Nixon Peabody managing partner Stephen Zubiago. We’ve been able to maintain our service levels and meet the needs of our clients. The Bloomberg Law analysis shows that while many firms are eager to get lawyers in the office to preserve culture and train young associates.”

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“In the last year or so, people have been doing just that more or less. According to the U.S. Labor Department, a staggering 4.4 million quit their jobs in September. And Harvard Business Review reports that employees between the ages of 30 and 45 saw the largest jump in resignation rates, with,” reports Vivia Chen in Bloomberg Law.

“If there’s a segment of the workforce that should be ripe for The Great Resignation, it should be the lawyering class, particularly those in the associate ranks Millennials and Gen Zers who’ve been working like dogs during the pandemic. Stressed and anguished, they’re also famous for being outspoken about tellinng their bosses exactly.”

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“The collapse of Le Clair Ryan prompted its share of recriminations, but while finger-pointing between the former partners and United Lex continues, one bankruptcy partner found himself caught out in a multi-year embezzlement scheme. The firm’s former Chief Legal Officer, Bruce H. Matson, admitted,” reports Joe Patrice in Above The Law.

“Around $4 million from bankruptcy trust funds that he oversaw, improperly distributing some of those funds to himself and another attorney. Most of the total misappropriation came in the from wind-down funds that he sent around in 2019 that weren’t supposed to be distributed at that time. After the scheme got noticed, prosecutors say.”

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“Associates have been rightfully cheering the deluge of money coming their way this year. Because the Biglaw lateral market is super hot right now we are talking six-figure signing bonuses, firms have had to respond with money to keep their associates. So we’ve seen special bonuses and raises and,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“According to the latest Peer Monitor Index report by Thomson Reuters, direct expenses are up 7.2 percent, driven largely by these compensation increases. As the report notes, The increases in salary scale have never been as large or as frequent as they have in 2021 and that might just be a little nerve-racking since associate compensation.”

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“How badly does your firm want to compete in the white-hot lateral market? For some firms, the answer can be evidenced in its compensation. Did your firm raise salaries once this year? Great, a lot of firms did that. But did your firm raises salaries twice this year? Eh, probably not, only a few did,” reports Staci Zaretsky in Above The Law.

“Did your firm raise salaries three times this year? Only two firms that we know of can say that they did, and one of them did it earlier this week. As noted above, this firm has bumped associate salaries three times thus far in 2021… but it still hasn’t quite reached the $205K starting salary that associates have long been dreaming of which firm.”

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“Big Law bonus season is nigh, and firms are getting ready to throw higher amounts of money at some associates than they did last year even after giving them two seasonal awards and a base salary bump earlier in 2021. Annual bonuses will likely match last year’s scale of $15,000 to $100,000, though,” reports Ruiqi Chen in Bloomberg Law.

“Some lawyers will see special bonuses on top of that, as partners seek to reward increasingly overworked associates who carried the load for firms during another year of record profits. One thing firms have started to realize is that there’s no bottom, said Stephanie Ruiter, a director at legal recruiter Lateral Link There’s always going to be a firm.”

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“Whether it’s 100% deserved or not, Biglaw has an unfortunate reputation. Like, you go to law school to save the turtles, but the Biglaw money is so good and the student loans so bad that you wind up graduating and working for Wolfram & Hart defending Goliath Corporation over their latest oil spill,” reports Kathryn Rubino in Above The Law.

“The truth is there’s a lot of money on the table and it can be difficult to turn that down, so maybe you compromise a little of the kind of work you imagined doing when you applied to law school. But the good news is that some Biglaw firms are doing the work to do good and now there’s a ranking to see how the firms’ efforts stack up.”

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“Biglaw bonus season is nearly upon us, and the lateral market is hot, hot, hot. Associates are expecting bigger and better year-end bonuses than ever before, and they know if they don’t receive them, they’ll be happily welcomed at another firm that may be more willing to show them the money,” reports Staci Zaretsky in their Above The Law.

“As far as special bonuses are concerned, however, associates don’t think they’ll be seeing them again. We released the results of our annual bonus survey just yesterday, and a little more than 55% of respondents reported that they do not believe any additional special bonuses will be offered. One firm just decided to blow associates expectations.”

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“Happy Halloween, associates! One Biglaw firm just gave its associates the best treat of all raises. That’s right, it’s the end of October and law firms are still handing out raises. Which firm is the latest to scare up an increase in compensation That would be Littler the world’s largest employment,” reports Staci Zaretsky in their Above The Law.

“Which brought in $613,640,000 gross revenue in 2020, ranking it at No. 69 in the most recent Am Law 100. Yesterday, during a video town hall presentation, the firm announced raises for all U.S. associates, effective immediately and retroactive to January 1, 2021. The raises are based on market and associate level, and will range.”

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