Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc) Forum

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 04, 2018 9:57 am

Market bonus for one clerkship is 50k. Just the class credit that wasn't given. I agree that it does make a difference. And given Kirkland's above market end-of-year bonuses, I would say that the big difference is in base salary, especially over the course of 5 or 6 years. Assuming 1 associate starts at 180k as a first year, and another at 190k as a second year (setting aside the 3 months at 180k as a stub), the difference after each associate is at their firm for 6 years is approximately 120k. And that's assuming neutral bonuses.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 04, 2018 10:54 pm

Anyone heard of a firm who paying out a clerkship bonus prior to someone's clerkship (with a clause for repayment if you don't return and stay for 1-2 years, of course)?

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Fri May 18, 2018 3:18 pm

so I'm joining this firm this fall following my clerkship, and I have absolutely no savings to pay for the formidable upfront fee, including brokers/ co-op/ securities, etc, is there a chance to advance my clerkship bonus... somehow before i even join the firm?

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Mon May 21, 2018 3:54 pm

Anonymous User wrote:so I'm joining this firm this fall following my clerkship, and I have absolutely no savings to pay for the formidable upfront fee, including brokers/ co-op/ securities, etc, is there a chance to advance my clerkship bonus... somehow before i even join the firm?
Sure, just ask the recruiter; they might advance you some of the bonus.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 22, 2018 3:08 pm

above anon above, i dont have a recruiter, dont know exactly who to ask from. Note my clerkship is ending early two months short of one year, not sure the implication of that to my bonus, the bonus will just be provided upon completion of my clerkship.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 22, 2018 5:42 pm

Anonymous User wrote:above anon above, i dont have a recruiter, dont know exactly who to ask from. Note my clerkship is ending early two months short of one year, not sure the implication of that to my bonus, the bonus will just be provided upon completion of my clerkship.
By recruiter, it's meant the person that coordinated the interview and hiring process. If it's a large firm, you should definitely have one of those and it can be found on NALP. If not, reach out to whomever contacted you about the interview (should be a non-lawyer).

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue May 22, 2018 6:03 pm

Anonymous User wrote:above anon above, i dont have a recruiter, dont know exactly who to ask from. Note my clerkship is ending early two months short of one year, not sure the implication of that to my bonus, the bonus will just be provided upon completion of my clerkship.
(1) The bonus should be the same even though it was only 10 months.
(2) The amount of the bonus should be in your offer letter, no? If not, it doesn't exist.
(3) "recruiter" means the in-house recruiter, i.e., HR. Presumably there's someone in firm administration (non-lawyer) who you've been in touch with?

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed May 23, 2018 11:59 pm

Edit to original post: Gibson gives $70k for 2 clerkships (source: offer letter from firm)

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Thu May 24, 2018 10:01 am

For folks who got the 70K clerkship bonus, how much was left after taxes?

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Thu May 24, 2018 2:17 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Edit to original post: Gibson gives $70k for 2 clerkships (source: offer letter from firm)
Are you going to try or did you try negotiating?

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Thu Nov 15, 2018 3:57 pm

Does anyone familiar with the Houston market know if 50k for one federal clerkship is generally market there? My firm has said 25k, and I've heard of at least one other clerk recently getting ~30k from BB/VE

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by bella07 » Fri Dec 07, 2018 12:38 pm

Wondering about bonuses too. I clerked with a DJ who retired halfway through my clerkship (health reasons) then I went to a federal magistrate judge in another (larger) district for 2 yrs. Would is even be possible for me to get the bonus? I'm looking at Atlanta and DC markets? Also, do firms not give you a bonus if you use a recruiter?

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Do_I_Regret_It? » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:59 pm

Given the high likelihood of being pushed out as a midlevel, is there any benefit to dropping down a class year? Theoretically, wouldn't this buy you more time at the firm, leading to higher earnings potential in the long run?

Currently weighing making a run at a second clerkship and worried about the steep learning curve of entering as a third-year. Then again, I am already worried about whether entering as a second-year is a disadvantage. Let me know if I am overthinking this!

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:30 am

The clerkship bonus intel at the start of this thread is now a bit dated. Are firms increasingly beating the 50/70k scale, or is that still standard? Hoping to negotiate upwards a bit.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 02, 2019 3:58 pm

Anonymous User wrote:The clerkship bonus intel at the start of this thread is now a bit dated. Are firms increasingly beating the 50/70k scale, or is that still standard? Hoping to negotiate upwards a bit.
How did that turn out? Wondering if I should bother trying to negotiate at a Big Law firm for a clerkship that lasted more than 1 year but less than 2.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 02, 2019 7:15 pm

Anonymous User wrote:The clerkship bonus intel at the start of this thread is now a bit dated. Are firms increasingly beating the 50/70k scale, or is that still standard? Hoping to negotiate upwards a bit.
Non-boutique firms (ie Cravath et al) are still generally 50/70. Never heard of any deviations/saw any during my cycle. Boutique NYC firms ranged, but all were at or below “Cravath-scale” clerkship bonus except Quinn, Kellogg, Boies, Susman. Wachtell = no clerkship bonus but eligible for prorated year-end bonus tied to your class year. Seems like it ends up being above market for one year clerkship but below market if you’ve done 2 (at least it’s been this way the last five years), although you make it up the next year of course.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Tue Apr 02, 2019 11:32 pm

Anonymous User wrote:
Anonymous User wrote:The clerkship bonus intel at the start of this thread is now a bit dated. Are firms increasingly beating the 50/70k scale, or is that still standard? Hoping to negotiate upwards a bit.
How did that turn out? Wondering if I should bother trying to negotiate at a Big Law firm for a clerkship that lasted more than 1 year but less than 2.
I'm the first anon above. I received two big law offers with a 50k bonus, though one firm did not include a one-year clawback, so that appears to be a point of negotiation. Also, whether a firm will give a prorated class bonus for 2019 based on the start date, and what minimum hours will be required, appear to be up for negotiation as well.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 20, 2019 12:37 pm

Buckle up, dumb question incoming.

Can someone break down compensation/class credit for me?

Say a 2018 grad did a 1 Yr. Art. III clerkship and they started at a firm that pays market in September 2019. Are they making $190K or $200K? I assumed $190K until they advanced with their class year in January, but a fellow uninformed law student told me the opposite. Also, how would you refer to this fictitious clerk? Once they start in September 2019, are they technically a second-year associate?

This is probably all very obvious, I had just never thought of it before.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by beepboopbeep » Wed Nov 20, 2019 3:07 pm

Depends on how the firm calculates class year, but it's not uncommon to bump salaries at the end of the calendar year rather than by actual time spent out of law school/at the firm. I am pretty sure it worked like your friend said at my former firm -- we got bumped to the second year rate at the first December 31st after starting for non-clerks, and clerks who started on the same timeline started at the second year rate (and got the bump to 3rd-year salary at the first December 31st after starting). The point is just to keep people in the same law school class year at the same rate, which simplifies both salary and billing rates. So yes, the clerk is a second-year associate as soon as they start.

Firms vary in a lot of unexpected dimensions, so would not be at all surprised to hear someone say "that is not at all how it works at mine."

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Wed Nov 20, 2019 5:56 pm

Anonymous User wrote:Does anyone familiar with the Houston market know if 50k for one federal clerkship is generally market there? My firm has said 25k, and I've heard of at least one other clerk recently getting ~30k from BB/VE
Not first hand, but good authority that BB is 50K for one clerkship. It is less clear what you get for two.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Nov 30, 2019 9:31 pm

Can also confirm that a previously unreported NYC firm is at $100k for two.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by QContinuum » Mon Dec 02, 2019 7:23 pm

beepboopbeep wrote:Depends on how the firm calculates class year, but it's not uncommon to bump salaries at the end of the calendar year rather than by actual time spent out of law school/at the firm. I am pretty sure it worked like your friend said at my former firm -- we got bumped to the second year rate at the first December 31st after starting for non-clerks, and clerks who started on the same timeline started at the second year rate (and got the bump to 3rd-year salary at the first December 31st after starting). The point is just to keep people in the same law school class year at the same rate, which simplifies both salary and billing rates. So yes, the clerk is a second-year associate as soon as they start.

Firms vary in a lot of unexpected dimensions, so would not be at all surprised to hear someone say "that is not at all how it works at mine."
Wait, your salary got bumped from $190k to $200k after you finished your stub year? I was under the impression most firms keep you at $190k for the stub year plus the entire following calendar year (the "first year"), and only bump to $200k at the beginning of the second full calendar year. So, clerks with a year's credit would come in at $190k, then go up to $200k in a few months along with the rest of their same-class-year cohorts.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by beepboopbeep » Mon Dec 02, 2019 8:21 pm

QContinuum wrote:
beepboopbeep wrote:Depends on how the firm calculates class year, but it's not uncommon to bump salaries at the end of the calendar year rather than by actual time spent out of law school/at the firm. I am pretty sure it worked like your friend said at my former firm -- we got bumped to the second year rate at the first December 31st after starting for non-clerks, and clerks who started on the same timeline started at the second year rate (and got the bump to 3rd-year salary at the first December 31st after starting). The point is just to keep people in the same law school class year at the same rate, which simplifies both salary and billing rates. So yes, the clerk is a second-year associate as soon as they start.

Firms vary in a lot of unexpected dimensions, so would not be at all surprised to hear someone say "that is not at all how it works at mine."
Wait, your salary got bumped from $190k to $200k after you finished your stub year? I was under the impression most firms keep you at $190k for the stub year plus the entire following calendar year (the "first year"), and only bump to $200k at the beginning of the second full calendar year. So, clerks with a year's credit would come in at $190k, then go up to $200k in a few months along with the rest of their same-class-year cohorts.
It was several years ago and before the 190k bump, but I am pretty sure it was at the end of the stub year. Could be wrong, but I remember being surprised that I was getting a raise then too.

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:21 pm

Can anyone provide insight on what the big ATL firms would offer as a signing bonus to a double clerk (D.Ct./CoA)? Would be coming in with some firm experience as well, though not sure that matters (and I'm negotiable on class year).

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Re: Post-Clerkship Comp Thread (2nd Yr Bonus, Class Credit, etc)

Post by Anonymous User » Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:49 pm

Any meaningful updates or changes here?

Is Kirkland still stiffing BK clerks on class year?

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