Anonymous User wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2020 11:59 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sat Jul 25, 2020 4:27 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Jul 12, 2020 2:53 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Sun Jul 12, 2020 1:48 pm
Anonymous User wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 10:48 am
Law student here curious about the StL version of "biglaw" and there's a few compensation related questions I can't find answered elsewhere. Does anyone know whether the big StL firms (BCLP, HB, TC, AT etc) usually give bar stipends/pay for bar prep packages? What about clerkship bonuses? (I'm assuming no except maybe BCLP.) Also, what is a typical bonus for a junior associate in St. Louis, either at the minimum hrs required for the bonus or for someone who's billing in the 2300-2500 range?
Also would love any insight people have on how the StL market is weathering (or not weathering) the COVID storm. SAs who maybe had the chance to go to another city, do you regret your decision?
I am an associate at one of the firms you mentioned. My firm does provide a bar prep stipend and also does clerkship bonuses "on a case-by-case basis" (which I take to mean very rarely). I think this is pretty standard for STL firms. As far as standard bonuses go, a junior associate who hits hours will get a 10-15k bonus, with higher bonuses as you get more senior. Hitting 2300-2500 hours would get you 25-40k.
It's tough to get a feel for how the market is handling COVID, as it varies substantially by firm and practice group. Litigation at my firm is still extremely busy, but corporate work had slowed down for a few months and is just starting to pick up again. I am not worried about layoffs or salary reductions, and have been told to still expect bonuses this year, but I think that varies substantially between firms.
Anon law student here, thank you for your response!!
No problem. Happy to answer more, if you have them. I remember being frustrated as a law student about how little information there was out there about StL firms.
Would you say it is "easy" to lateral from a v50 firm in the midwest to an STL/KC firm without ties?
Also, while I'm sure it varies from firm to firm, do you generally feel "busy" or is there a struggle to get work/reach your hours?
Can't speak to KC, but STL firms do put a premium on ties because they can indicate that an associate is likely to stay in the city for their whole career. I came from a coastal law school and had to explain in almost every interview why I wanted to work in STL (I did have ties). That said, I don't think that ties are as important for lateral associates, particularly laterals from big firms or major markets. If you're choosing to to come to STL after working elsewhere, the idea is that you've developed a better idea of what you want in a workplace and are more likely to stick around and not flee for better options in a bigger market. This is particularly true at the larger firms that have offices in other cities (think BC, HB, Pol, and TC), who generally place lower emphasis on ties in the first place. I know my firm has given offers to at least two laterals from New York in the past two years, both with minimal ties.
As far as time goes, it varies by firm and even more by practice group. I'm a mid-level in litigation and haven't been slow ever. I could easily have billed 2500 every year, if I wanted to. There is no competition for hours between litigation associates at my firm because work is everywhere. That's less true during covid, but everyone I know in litigation is still on track to make hours. It's much different for corporate associates, particularly first and second years. There just is not as much work that a lower-level associate can do in corporate (drawing from what my friends tell me, my knowledge of what corporate associates do could fit in a thimble). It's extremely uncommon for a corporate associate at my firm to hit hours before their third year. As you get more senior, your workload steadily increases, particularly after you get to the point where you can run a deal on your own. If you ask me, the corporate guys have it made as junior associates. There's no expectation that you will meet hours and no penalty for not doing so. In litigation, because the work is always there, you are expected to make hours. Obviously ymmv, and there are some more insular litigation groups where this might not be true.
