2015 Biglaw Boneus Thread Forum

[Cobretti]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

please explain

[charliekelly33]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

Inform us old wise anonymous user how partner comp is "untethered" to PPP. Are there wide variations in partner comp? Obviously. But not tethered? LOL

I guess average partner at Wachtell is not likely to make more than the average partner at a sub $1M PPP firm.

[Desert Fox]

[charliekelly33]

For one it's heavily bullshitted because its self reported.

Really? http://www.americanlawyer.com/home/id=1 ... curindex=0

"Correction: The American Lawyer is revising the 2014 global profits per partner figure it reported for Dentons from $495,000 to $680,000. Dentons originally declined to provide a global PPP and other key metrics prior to The Am Law 100 survey's publication on April 27. Following publication, Dentons provided the new PPP figure along with a letter from consultant KPMG validating the number. The American Lawyer has updated other Am Law 100 metrics for Dentons that either use PPP as a component or are directly derived from PPP to incorporate this change.

[smaug]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

Why is the increase in partner comp. not significant? Even with a massive spread and even knowing it isn't all going to partner comp., the increase is actually pretty coherent, no?

aka u wot m8? Come fight me irl, anon.

[Anonymous User]

When PPP reporting started out, it was vaguely related to partner comp. Then people started massaging it. Heavily. And still do. Then the spread between median and mean partner comp got gigantic.

Basically, assume median partner comp for a midcareer guy is somewhere around 50-67% of amlaw reported mean partner comp, and more like 40-50% at extreme EWYK places.

[Desert Fox]

[SplitMyPants]

When PPP reporting started out, it was vaguely related to partner comp. Then people started massaging it. Heavily. And still do. Then the spread between median and mean partner comp got gigantic.

Basically, assume median partner comp for a midcareer guy is somewhere around 50-67% of amlaw reported mean partner comp, and more like 40-50% at extreme EWYK places.

That doesn't mean PPP is a bad proxy for how much business was done in a year or for a firm's potential ability to further compensate associates (and lower totem-pole partners, for that matter).

What you pointed out only shows that partner comp used to be flatter across the top of the pyramid.

[smaug]

When PPP reporting started out, it was vaguely related to partner comp. Then people started massaging it. Heavily. And still do. Then the spread between median and mean partner comp got gigantic.

Basically, assume median partner comp for a midcareer guy is somewhere around 50-67% of amlaw reported mean partner comp, and more like 40-50% at extreme EWYK places.

Except see what I posted above. The change is still relevant, and that's what was notable.

You're kinda slow.

[Big Shrimpin]

can't wait for DPW to SHATTER (our dreams)

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

It's been pretty widely accepted for a long time now that PPP as reported to Amlaw is inflated by 5 to 25%ish, depending on the firm, and that you wouldn't really know how inflated it is until you saw the Citi financials. But they've been inflated for decades now, that doesn't mean the actual mean partner compensation hasn't spiked in real terms as well.

The spread of many (maybe most?) firms has increased over that period of time as well, to where the mean is going to be bigger than the median everywhere except for the lockstep places (where the median is actually a little bigger than the mean). But it's really part of the same issue being discussed as part of the partner cohort in general. The rich are getting richer, everyone else runs in place. I don't begrudge the newly-promoted partner making $600k who still needs to buy a place in NYC all that much for being concerned about comp. It's the guy making $6M who's been making millions for decades and still can never satisfy his voracious appetite for more money than he can even spend responsibly.

[rahulg91]

It's been pretty widely accepted for a long time now that PPP as reported to Amlaw is inflated by 5 to 25%ish, depending on the firm, and that you wouldn't really know how inflated it is until you saw the Citi financials.

Source? Any evidence of this at all?

[Anonymous User]

When PPP reporting started out, it was vaguely related to partner comp. Then people started massaging it. Heavily. And still do. Then the spread between median and mean partner comp got gigantic.

Basically, assume median partner comp for a midcareer guy is somewhere around 50-67% of amlaw reported mean partner comp, and more like 40-50% at extreme EWYK places.

Except see what I posted above. The change is still relevant, and that's what was notable.

You're kinda slow.

Sigh.

[smaug]

Damn, owned by the brave anon.

[charliekelly33]

When PPP reporting started out, it was vaguely related to partner comp. Then people started massaging it. Heavily. And still do. Then the spread between median and mean partner comp got gigantic.

Basically, assume median partner comp for a midcareer guy is somewhere around 50-67% of amlaw reported mean partner comp, and more like 40-50% at extreme EWYK places.

Except see what I posted above. The change is still relevant, and that's what was notable.

You're kinda slow.

Sigh.

Now they've gotten us to turn on ourselves. The equity partners win everytime

[2014]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

You realize that the three firms that are relevant to this thread are all strictly lockstep or lockstep with minimal modifications at the partner level right?

Or is your point that Kirkland partners are all paid different because cool story tell us another

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

It's been pretty widely accepted for a long time now that PPP as reported to Amlaw is inflated by 5 to 25%ish, depending on the firm, and that you wouldn't really know how inflated it is until you saw the Citi financials.

Source? Any evidence of this at all?

For fairly obvious reasons there's not much hard evidence of this accessible to us (only Citi has it presumably), but most anyone at a firm off the record will tell you some version of this.

This article does a fairly good job of conveying the point though.

[instride91]

can't wait for DPW to SHATTER (our dreams)

Can we please speculate as to why DPW and S&C have yet to announce bonuses?

[Big Shrimpin]

can't wait for DPW to SHATTER (our dreams)

Can we please speculate as to why DPW and S&C have yet to announce bonuses?

ugh I still have hoap why?

[smaug]

can't wait for DPW to SHATTER (our dreams)

Can we please speculate as to why DPW and S&C have yet to announce bonuses?

ugh I still have hoap why?

lol

[Anonymous User]

Got some huge holiday box from S&C. Would they be so generous in their gift giving if they weren't planning on SHATTERING?

[Sandrew]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

I kinda spaced out in Corporations class, but I'm pretty sure we didn't cover how Biglaw partners are compensated. Is there a supplement that covers it? Incidentally, aren't partnerships not, y'know, corporations?

[Byakuya769]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

I kinda spaced out in Corporations class, but I'm pretty sure we didn't cover how Biglaw partners are compensated. Is there a supplement that covers it? Incidentally, aren't partnerships not, y'know, corporations?

The PPP Judgement Rule not make it to your outline???

[gchatbrah]

I love when people post Amlaw PPP numbers like they are tethered to real partner comp. It's so quaint. Have fun in Corporations class, guys.

You realize that the three firms that are relevant to this thread are all strictly lockstep or lockstep with minimal modifications at the partner level right?

Or is your point that Kirkland partners are all paid different because cool story tell us another

+1000

[bearsfan23]

It's been pretty widely accepted for a long time now that PPP as reported to Amlaw is inflated by 5 to 25%ish, depending on the firm, and that you wouldn't really know how inflated it is until you saw the Citi financials.

Source? Any evidence of this at all?

Mono has zero idea what he's talking about.

Don't take anything he says seriously, he's a law student who has a weird hate for biglaw, most likely from being no-offered