Dentons Forum

[Dunwoody]

Maybe a shot in the dark, but can anyone fill me in on the Dentons US (non-NY) salary and bonus scale? TIA. (Other substantive comments on the firm also appreciated)

[Avian]

They have NALP listings for at least some of their U.S. offices for starting salaries. That's all the help I can give you, but if you list the office(s) you're interested in you may get better answers. Salaries and bonuses can vary widely outside NY/other major markets.

[Anonymous User]

I believe they pay 160 in the bigger cities. dc and chicago certainly. bonuses are a black box and well below market.

[Dunwoody]

Thanks. I don't want to go into too much detail bc I'm looking at a smaller office. Let's say non-Chicago midwest office, 4th to 8th year.

Appreciate the comments so far. Thank you.

[Anonymous User]

Did you get an answer to this? I'm interested, too. As a potential lateral to a non-NYC/non-Chicago office, I'm very curious to know anything about their salary scale.

Anyone?

[Anonymous User]

also interested to see if anyone has info on their Dallas office

[yogotti]

also interested to see if anyone has info on their Dallas office

NALP said $160K for Dallas.

[Anonymous User]

also interested to see if anyone has info on their Dallas office

NALP said $160K for Dallas.

NALP said 160 for 2 other firms in dallas (both v100) yet I know multiple people that work there and they make 140K....are the numbers always right?

[favabeansoup]

also interested to see if anyone has info on their Dallas office

NALP said $160K for Dallas.

NALP said 160 for 2 other firms in dallas (both v100) yet I know multiple people that work there and they make 140K....are the numbers always right?

What firms are these would like to see this for myself

[Anonymous User]

Reviving this thread because I'm interested to hear what their pay is like now that many firms have gone to 180. It appears that they have taken their starting salaries off of their NALP pages and Vault says "Firm does not disclose salary data".

Anybody have any info on what salaries are like in the bigger cities like DC, Chi, Dallas?

[Anonymous User]

Dentons has moved to 180 in several non-NY/non-Chicago markets.

[mecarey]

Dentons has moved to 180 in several non-NY/non-Chicago markets.

Would you mind just sharing which offices you know of? Dentons is a large enough firm that I doubt an anonymous post would out who you are.

[Anonymous User]

Can anybody shed some light on the recent developments?

[Voyager]

I have no inside track.

But here is my take: Dentons has some good leaders.

Why do I say that?

Most of these awful places handle poor business by taking the axe to the one group that (a) has the least to do with the fact that business is bad and (b) is MOST negatively impact by being fired. That is to say: the associates.

The RIGHT thing to do in any business when shit goes badly, is to FIRE THOSE IN CHARGE. They fucked up. They are the ones that couldn't figure out how to drive revenue. And they cost a ton to keep around.

So GOOD FOR DENTONS for taking the axe FIRST to the worthless, parasitic partners. Bravo.

First question I ask when thinking about a failing business unit is not how many workers need to be let go, but who are the executive clowns that led us to this bad place and do we need to fire all of those leaders or only 75% of them.

[RaceJudicata]

I have no inside track.

But here is my take: Dentons has some good leaders.

Why do I say that?

Most of these awful places handle poor business by taking the axe to the one group that (a) has the least to do with the fact that business is bad and (b) is MOST negatively impact by being fired. That is to say: the associates.

The RIGHT thing to do in any business when shit goes badly, is to FIRE THOSE IN CHARGE. They fucked up. They are the ones that couldn't figure out how to drive revenue. And they cost a ton to keep around.

So GOOD FOR DENTONS for taking the axe FIRST to the worthless, parasitic partners. Bravo.

First question I ask when thinking about a failing business unit is not how many workers need to be let go, but who are the executive clowns that led us to this bad place and do we need to fire all of those leaders or only 75% of them.

I agree with you. But this assumes that there aren't a bunch of associates who were or are going to be shit canned in the coming months. Associates are going to be at least somewhat nervous about trumpeting layoffs ..

[Voyager]

I have no inside track.

But here is my take: Dentons has some good leaders.

Why do I say that?

Most of these awful places handle poor business by taking the axe to the one group that (a) has the least to do with the fact that business is bad and (b) is MOST negatively impact by being fired. That is to say: the associates.

The RIGHT thing to do in any business when shit goes badly, is to FIRE THOSE IN CHARGE. They fucked up. They are the ones that couldn't figure out how to drive revenue. And they cost a ton to keep around.

So GOOD FOR DENTONS for taking the axe FIRST to the worthless, parasitic partners. Bravo.

First question I ask when thinking about a failing business unit is not how many workers need to be let go, but who are the executive clowns that led us to this bad place and do we need to fire all of those leaders or only 75% of them.

I agree with you. But this assumes that there aren't a bunch of associates who were or are going to be shit canned in the coming months. Associates are going to be at least somewhat nervous about trumpeting layoffs ..

Well there probably ARE a bunch of associate firings in the works at Dentons... but at least they started with the underperforming partners first...

...and that is both commendable and rare

[Anonymous User]

Have heard of a handful of associate layoffs in a few larger offices. Maybe that's just business as usual for a big firm though.

[Anonymous User]

Reviving this:

Can someone explain the associate hierarchy? I see Associates, Managing Associates, and Senior Managing Associates. Are those simply year-based? Also, are salaries tied to those titles or is it lockstep, with increases every year like other firms?

Also, besides for first-year associate salaries, does anyone have info on salaries for subsequent years and bonuses?

Asking for the NY/DC offices.

Thanks!

[Anonymous User]

Reviving this:

Can someone explain the associate hierarchy? I see Associates, Managing Associates, and Senior Managing Associates. Are those simply year-based? Also, are salaries tied to those titles or is it lockstep, with increases every year like other firms?

Also, besides for first-year associate salaries, does anyone have info on salaries for subsequent years and bonuses?

Asking for the NY/DC offices.

Thanks!

I asked this at a CB I had there a few years ago. They're meaningless titles, basically. Managing Associates are midlevels (~3-5 years), Senior Managing Associates are senior associates (~6+ years). It's lockstep compensation AFAIK, but don't think they're on the current Cravath scale.

[Anonymous User]

Reviving this:

Can someone explain the associate hierarchy? I see Associates, Managing Associates, and Senior Managing Associates. Are those simply year-based? Also, are salaries tied to those titles or is it lockstep, with increases every year like other firms?

Also, besides for first-year associate salaries, does anyone have info on salaries for subsequent years and bonuses?

Asking for the NY/DC offices.

Thanks!

I asked this at a CB I had there a few years ago. They're meaningless titles, basically. Managing Associates are midlevels (~3-5 years), Senior Managing Associates are senior associates (~6+ years). It's lockstep compensation AFAIK, but don't think they're on the current Cravath scale.

Not lock-step. All salary increases and bonuses are merit-based.

[Anonymous User]

Yea definitely not lockstep. You have to meet certain "competencies" to advance to the next level and while I feel like it generally is Managing Associate = Midlevel and Senior Managing Associate = Senior Associate, it takes different lengths of time to move up depending on the person.

[Anonymous User]

Are salaries tied to the "leveling up" - i.e. each Managing Associate, no matter how many years out of law school, have the same base salary or does it change for every year that you are out of law school? Can someone provide more info regarding general salaries/bonuses for 1st to 8th year associates in Dentons big market cities?

Also - what are examples of some of the competencies?

For reference, Schiff Hardin does this. You gain certain competencies and then level up. There are three categories - 1st makes one salary, 2nd makes another, and 3rd makes the most - but those salaries don't vary by individual or by years out of law school. The only thing that may vary is the bonus. Most of the time people graduate from one level to another at a similar pace but there are plenty that get through faster and still others that lag behind.

[Anonymous User]

Are salaries tied to the "leveling up" - i.e. each Managing Associate, no matter how many years out of law school, have the same base salary or does it change for every year that you are out of law school? Can someone provide more info regarding general salaries/bonuses for 1st to 8th year associates in Dentons big market cities?

Also - what are examples of some of the competencies?

For reference, Schiff Hardin does this. You gain certain competencies and then level up. There are three categories - 1st makes one salary, 2nd makes another, and 3rd makes the most - but those salaries don't vary by individual or by years out of law school. The only thing that may vary is the bonus. Most of the time people graduate from one level to another at a similar pace but there are plenty that get through faster and still others that lag behind.

Any info?