Big Law Salary Increase

[Rashabon]

44 minutes ago, boyo said:

No doubt there are those determined to go and will go regardless, but there are definitely people on the edge, and why wouldn't an extra 500 bucks a week help them decide? Sure it's not NY money but could make a difference. I still think that NY is a harsher working environment over all so it's not just about the money.

If you weren't willing to accept $130K as a first year associate because you want to make more in New York, paying people $2400 bucks a week as an articling student (almost as much as a first year associate would make...) isn't going to suddenly make a difference. Not to mention you've now spent a fortune to stop a small handful of people going to New York, when most of the cohort isn't going there.

[BlockedQuebecois]

Not an immediate pay raise, but an interesting move and likely good retention/recruitment strategy by Kirkland and Ellis: 

Quote

Kirkland & Ellis is shortening the amount of time it takes for its lawyers to qualify for equity partnership.

The firm, which is the world’s largest by revenue, previously required its lawyers to be associates for six years and then an additional four years as a salaried partner before they could be considered for equity partnership.

The firm announced internally today that it is reducing the amount of time lawyers need to be salaried partners before they can progress, to three years, according to a memo obtained by Law.com International. The move means lawyers who make it that far will take nine years, rather than 10, to become equity partners.

https://www.law.com/international-edition/2021/12/01/kirkland-shortens-track-to-equity-partnership/?slreturn=20211102083713

[WhoKnows]

19 minutes ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

Not an immediate pay raise, but an interesting move and likely good retention/recruitment strategy by Kirkland and Ellis: 

https://www.law.com/international-edition/2021/12/01/kirkland-shortens-track-to-equity-partnership/?slreturn=20211102083713

Who does this really help though? Were they losing late associates or new salaried partners who couldn't imagine doing 4 or 5 more years but can imagine doing 3 or 4? Is it for early associates who were struggling with it taking 10 years to make equity, but 9 just sounds so much more appealing - like pricing the 10 dollar sandwich at 9.99?

[easttowest]

19 minutes ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

Not an immediate pay raise, but an interesting move and likely good retention/recruitment strategy by Kirkland and Ellis: 

https://www.law.com/international-edition/2021/12/01/kirkland-shortens-track-to-equity-partnership/?slreturn=20211102083713

I’m curious to see what effect this will have, if any. 

Just guessing, I imagine only a small handful of recently made K&E partners are invited to equity immediately after meeting the current requirements. Some even smaller handful might be “ready” under the new measure. 

I could be way off of course. But since I’ve started with my firm we haven’t made one partner who had only met the minimum requirement. 

[Rashabon]

9 minutes ago, WhoKnows said:

Who does this really help though? Were they losing late associates or new salaried partners who couldn't imagine doing 4 or 5 more years but can imagine doing 3 or 4? Is it for early associates who were struggling with it taking 10 years to make equity, but 9 just sounds so much more appealing - like pricing the 10 dollar sandwich at 9.99?

Even in Canada income partners leave for other opportunities because until you make equity partner, you're still not skyrocketing. I've seen a lot of income partners leave for in-house positions, or go to other firms where they might make equity sooner, etc. Shortening that time frame might help them retain some of those people who would otherwise not want to slog it out. It's much rarer to leave once you buy in to equity partnership.

[Hitman9172]

6 hours ago, Rashabon said:

Even in Canada income partners leave for other opportunities because until you make equity partner, you're still not skyrocketing. I've seen a lot of income partners leave for in-house positions, or go to other firms where they might make equity sooner, etc. Shortening that time frame might help them retain some of those people who would otherwise not want to slog it out. It's much rarer to leave once you buy in to equity partnership.

Agreed. Once you hit income partner, you keep chugging along if you're hopeful you'll make equity partner, or you leave for an in-house position or competitor firm, unless the firm chooses to force you out earlier. You don't start seeing the massive growth in earnings until you hit equity partner, which never happens for many income partners.

[Dragon123]

To confirm, is the range of lockstep pay at big firms as of January 2022 going to be $130k for 1st years all the way up to $245k for 7th years?

[infoinfoinfo]

It seems to me that although base salaries seem more or less the same now for top tier firms, the EOY bonuses policies can have a huge effect on overall comp. 

From my knowledge, some are almost exclusively billable-hours based while some others have more subjective criteria. Some policies do not require to meet target, some do, and some require to substantially exceed it only to be eligible. Some account for business development, other don't. In some firms, you can get up to almost 50% of your salary in bonus, while some are capped. 

Did we discuss this elsewhere? If not, any smart way we could share without risking revealing our firm?

[Jaggers]

Someone should do an anonymous salary survey 🙂

[BlockedQuebecois]

26 minutes ago, infoinfoinfo said:

If not, any smart way we could share without risking revealing our firm?

Once you have a sufficient reputation, you can post anonymously in this sub-forum. Alternatively, you can feel free to PM me (or a moderator, or another trusted poster) and I will post on your behalf. 

Although given you are the only one to ask thus far, I think most people could figure out that you asked me to post for you. 

Edited December 3, 2021 by BlockedQuebecois

[infoinfoinfo]

4 minutes ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

Once you have a sufficient reputation, you can post anonymously in this sub-forum. Alternatively, you can feel free to PM me (or a moderator, or another trusted poster) and I will post on your behalf. 

Although given you are the only one to ask thus far, I think most people could figure out that you asked me to post for you. 

I'd be willing to share if we have a certain critical mass before publishing results

[BlockedQuebecois]

Then your best bet is likely setting up a survey, sharing it widely, then publishing the results. 

[delije89]

1 minute ago, BlockedQuebecois said:

Then your best bet is likely setting up a survey, sharing it widely, then publishing the results. 

Paging @canuckfanatic.

[Dragon123]

Part of the problem with bonuses is that sharing the policies is not that helpful. Bonus criteria even at the same firm could vary from year to year. My firm's policy is fairly is pretty high level.

My experience is that bonus policies which have a non-billable aspect to them are good in theory but the non-billable work counts for little at the end of the day. The exception would be business development where an associate was able to land a client but even that goes back to bringing in billable work.

Billable hours, not writing articles or doing pro-bono work, are what makes the firm money. That's what firm's will always reward in the bonus criteria for the most part.

[Jaggers]

Just got my results for the year, and it's been a good year 🙂

[BlockedQuebecois]

On 9/1/2021 at 1:16 AM, BlockedQuebecois said:

I would even work for Dentons if they let me pick which office I was based out of on a quarterly basis (working core hours that match up with Toronto, of course).

 

https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2021/12/20/quinn-emanuel-to-let-us-lawyers-work-remotely-on-permanent-basis/

Quote

Quinn Emanuel to Let US Lawyers Work Remotely on Permanent Basis

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is ushering in an era of permanent remote work, announcing Monday that all its U.S. lawyers are free to work from wherever they wish.

...

Incoming associates still must be hired by and be affiliated with an existing Quinn Emanuel office, even if they intend to work from elsewhere in the United States. And they must also comply with all applicable tax, bar admission and other legal requirements.

[easttowest]

I hate it. 

[tiktok]

Could you please elaborate on how the New York environment is harsher? Do they have bigger billable targets? 

On 11/19/2021 at 10:01 PM, Rashabon said:

If you weren't willing to accept $130K as a first year associate because you want to make more in New York, paying people $2400 bucks a week as an articling student (almost as much as a first year associate would make...) isn't going to suddenly make a difference. Not to mention you've now spent a fortune to stop a small handful of people going to New York, when most of the cohort isn't going there.

 

[LawStudent604]

Is Lenczner Slaght included in this pay raise? I noticed on NALP that their first year salary is $140,000, which surprised me because I didn't know they paid more than most of the large firms.

[BlockedQuebecois]

They didn’t used to, but do now. See earlier in the thread:

 

[Mr. Deeds]

And Davies bumps their first year salary to $160k… holy moly macaroni! 

[CleanHands]

7 minutes ago, Mustang said:

And Davies bumps their first year salary to $160k… holy moly macaroni! 

Davies isn't the big thing anymore. What about Wildeboer Dellelce?

[Mr. Deeds]

Wildeboer increased to $130k! You’ll fit right in in the crim practice that’s for sure

[easttowest]

15 hours ago, Mustang said:

And Davies bumps their first year salary to $160k… holy moly macaroni! 

This was expected from the moment everybody jumped up to what they used to pay their 1st years. 

Davies is always going to Davies and everyone will ignore them.

[Dussy]

Does anyone know if Bennett Jones similarly raised to 160k? Or perhaps 155k?