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I'm at a prestigious big law firm that pays out clerkship bonuses in two portions: the first half on your first day at the firm and the second half on your one year anniversary.

I've already received the first half, but a family-related emergency financial need has come up, and getting the second half early would go a long way towards solving a very stressful problem.

Have any of you ever heard of someone requesting an advance on a staged bonus? Is that completely crazy/out-of-line to do?

I'm not at a "staged" firm, but I and several friends requested advances on clerkship bonuses. Firms seemed generally fine w/it. We weren't asking for >50% of the bonus advanced, tho, so YMMV.