Tracking COVID-19's effect on V100 associate pay/layoffs Forum

[QContinuum]

Updated with the news out of Duane Morris (V87). Actually had not realized there were firms that still did 401(k) matching for associates.

[Anonymous User]

Cooley giving all staff and associates a tech stipend ($750)

[BKing]

Crowell & Moring (v69): https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020 ... d-layoffs/

[objctnyrhnr]

Ogletree

https://abovethelaw.com/2020/04/am-law- ... mployment/

[Anonymous User]

No surprise, Reed Smith cuts 15% for associates. Partners and counsel took cuts too.

[QContinuum]

Updated with Crowell and Reed Smith news.

[Anonymous User]

Denton (V55): 3month furlough or ~5-10% salary reduction for staff; ~15% for first years; ~20% for other associates; 20% or more for partners depending on contribution. This is in addition to 50% bonus delay.

[QContinuum]

Denton (V55): 3month furlough or ~5-10% salary reduction for staff; ~15% for first years; ~20% for other associates; 20% or more for partners depending on contribution. This is in addition to 50% bonus delay.

OP updated with this info, with thanks for the tip.

Does this mean second-years will actually be paid less than first-years?? 15% cut for first-years means $161,500. 20% cut for second-years means $160,000! Really don't see how this makes sense (and I imagine second-years are going to be seriously pissed...).

[Anonymous User]

Denton (V55): 3month furlough or ~5-10% salary reduction for staff; ~15% for first years; ~20% for other associates; 20% or more for partners depending on contribution. This is in addition to 50% bonus delay.

OP updated with this info, with thanks for the tip.

Does this mean second-years will actually be paid less than first-years?? 15% cut for first-years means $161,500. 20% cut for second-years means $160,000! Really don't see how this makes sense (and I imagine second-years are going to be seriously pissed...).

Quoted anon here.
No. There are adjustments made for those falling close to the margin. These are the broad brackets.

[Anonymous User]

Not sure if this is the thread for it, but Paul Hastings just announced $100/month (or more if you show why) stipend retroactive to early March for increased work from home expenses--on top of already paying for monitors/keyboards etc. to be shipped out if desired earlier.

Really feels like they are trying to make a better statement than they did in 2009, although of course stealth layoffs still possible.

[QContinuum]

Quoted anon here.
No. There are adjustments made for those falling close to the margin. These are the broad brackets.

Thanks for the clarification. Still, second-years are now being paid the same as first-years, I assume? Still likely to tick off second-years who need to correct first-year work product.

[Anonymous User]

NRF update - 15% cut for US associates through the end of September and small number of layoffs (they did not say how many).

[ocw96]

Not sure if this is the thread for it, but Paul Hastings just announced $100/month (or more if you show why) stipend retroactive to early March for increased work from home expenses--on top of already paying for monitors/keyboards etc. to be shipped out if desired earlier.

Really feels like they are trying to make a better statement than they did in 2009, although of course stealth layoffs still possible.

As an SA I'm really happy to hear this, between this and the COVID emergency fund it seems like PH is doing right by its employees (at least for now).

[QContinuum]

NRF update - 15% cut for US associates through the end of September and small number of layoffs (they did not say how many).

Thanks, updated original post to reflect this.

[Wild Card]

ATL after-hours reveal:

K&L Gates (V40)

Equity partners are taking a 20 percent reduction in scheduled advances and firm leaders are taking even larger reductions. Income partners, associates, and allied professionals/staff are taking a 15 percent reduction in their salary provided they don’t go below a $75,000 floor (with some regional variations). As the firmwide email notes (available on the next page), “All personnel will be considered for discretionary bonuses for extraordinary performances or contributions, as many are working very hard through this period.”

https://abovethelaw.com/2020/04/k-l-gates-cuts/

[wisdom]

10% cut for Seyfarth Shaw associates, and some have been furloughed for 90 days (Vault No. 83):

https://abovethelaw.com/2020/04/am-law- ... y-for-all/

[objctnyrhnr]

Do we think there’s going to be a major vault shakeup after this?

To me, the subjectively perceived prestige of a firm should absolutely depend in Major part on that firm’s ability not to cut salaries during this time.

[PeanutsNJam]

Do we think there’s going to be a major vault shakeup after this?

To me, the subjectively perceived prestige of a firm should absolutely depend in Major part on that firm’s ability not to cut salaries during this time.

Vault surveys for 2021 I believe are already past due; haven't you filled one out? The survey makes up like 90% of the score or something.

[objctnyrhnr]

Do we think there’s going to be a major vault shakeup after this?

To me, the subjectively perceived prestige of a firm should absolutely depend in Major part on that firm’s ability not to cut salaries during this time.

Vault surveys for 2021 I believe are already past due; haven't you filled one out? The survey makes up like 90% of the score or something.

Yeah I feel like maybe I did a couple months ago, now that you mention it.

So maybe my question pertains to the subsequent ranking?

Do you think the firms benefited from the timing of this (assuming it had to happen) because it feels like we just passed survey season? Or do you think that the sentiment about cuts etc will not fade within a year?

*Obviously just conjecture at this point because we don’t know how long any of this stuff will really last, nor do we know whether many more amlaw100 firms will have to take measures.

[nixy]

Are Vault surveys actually at all meaningful?

[dabigchina]

Are Vault surveys actually at all meaningful?

The fact that people keep on bringing it up tells me that they are at least somewhat meaningful for recruiting. Whether it's meaningful enough not to cut associate pay is less sure.

That being said LaTTTham dropped to something like v15 after the great Lathaming, and they are now a V5, so people have short memories when it comes to shit like this.

[plmqazw]

Summary Stats:

• 20 of the V100 have announced compensation freezes/cuts or layoffs.
• Of these 20, 5 are in the V50. The remaining 15 are in the V51-V100 range.
• The largest pay cut to have been announced is 25%, by Cadwalader (V52) and Arent Fox (V77).
• The highest Vault-ranked firm to have announced compensation freezes/cuts or layoffs is Baker McKenzie (V32).

List of Firms:

• Baker McKenzie (V32) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Orrick (V34) - 15% pay cut for senior associates; 10% pay cut for junior and mid-level associates
• K&L Gates (V40) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Linklaters (V46) - Deferring 50% of its next bonus round payout and pushing back salary reviews by six months
• Allen & Overy (V47) - No raises for non-US associates

• Cadwalader (V52) - 25% pay cut for associates
• Dentons (V55) - 20% pay cut for all associates except first-years (second-years get a slightly less than 20% cut so they don't get paid less than first-years); 15% pay cut for first-year associates; 50% of 2019 bonuses will be paid on time and the other 50% will be paid in the second half of 2020
• Reed Smith (V61) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Norton Rose (V66) - Unspecified percentage of U.S. associates laid off; 15% pay cut for U.S. associates; optional 20% pay cut for associates in EMEA in exchange for reduced hours req.; 10% pay cut for Canadian associates
• Nixon Peabody (V68) - 5% of associates laid off (w/3 mo. health insurance) and 5% of associates furloughed
• Crowell & Moring (V69) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Venable (V70) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Arent Fox (V77) - 25% pay cut for associates
• Bryan Cave (V82) - 15% pay cut for associates OR a sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary OR going onto a part-time schedule with a corresponding reduction in salary
• Seyfarth Shaw (V83) - 10% pay cut for associates and ~50 attorneys furloughed for 90 days
• Duane Morris (V87) - 15% pay cut for associates; elimination of 401(k) matching
• Blank Rome (V92) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Kilpatrick (V93) - 5% pay cut for associates
• Ballard Spahr (V94) - 15% pay cut for associates; no raises
• Mintz Levin (V96) - 10% pay cut for associates; no discretionary bonus (hours bonus remains untouched); 5% pay cut for patent agents

[cavalier1138]

Are Vault surveys actually at all meaningful?

Based on some of the posts in this forum, apparently...

[QContinuum]

Do we think there’s going to be a major vault shakeup after this?

To me, the subjectively perceived prestige of a firm should absolutely depend in Major part on that firm’s ability not to cut salaries during this time.

Vault rank is actually proving to be surprisingly on the mark here. If you look at our tracker, of the 20 V100s that have frozen/cut pay or conducted layoffs so far, 15 are in the V51-100 tier, and only a quarter - 5 - are V50s. That says something about the relative strength of those firms.

Now, is the argument that the 20 who've announced so far should be ranked V81-100? I'm not sure we can say that for sure. For one thing (unfortunately), the pay cuts/freezes/layoffs are unlikely to stop at the 20 firms that've announced so far. We have to wait for the dust to settle first.

[abogado2018]

Do we think there’s going to be a major vault shakeup after this?

To me, the subjectively perceived prestige of a firm should absolutely depend in Major part on that firm’s ability not to cut salaries during this time.

Vault rank is actually proving to be surprisingly on the mark here. If you look at our tracker, of the 20 V100s that have frozen/cut pay or conducted layoffs so far, 15 are in the V51-100 tier, and only a quarter - 5 - are V50s. That says something about the relative strength of those firms.

Now, is the argument that the 20 who've announced so far should be ranked V81-100? I'm not sure we can say that for sure. For one thing (unfortunately), the pay cuts/freezes/layoffs are unlikely to stop at the 20 firms that've announced so far. We have to wait for the dust to settle first.

I think it's way too soon to start to draw conclusions about relative Vault rankings based on which firms have cut salaries, which seems to be the great majority of the action (versus actual layoffs). If the downturn drags on and the firms that cut salaries early do not layoff at all or layoff to a lesser extent than the firms that didn't cut salaries early, I would actually see that as a positive for the early salary cutters, Vault-wise. That should become clear over the summer.