Sign On Bonuses As A Biglaw Lateral Forum

[Anonymous User]

I’m considering a lateral move from one biglaw firm to another and was wondering the odds of successfully negotiating a sign-on bonus given that bonuses are upon us.

[shock259]

At this time of year, should be ~100%. If your new firm isn't willing to give you your full bonus for your current class year, tell them you will join them on January 1 (or whenever your bonus is paid).

I lateraled in August and my firm paid my full bonus for my class year without me having to ask for it.

[Anonymous User]

At this time of year, should be ~100%. If your new firm isn't willing to give you your full bonus for your current class year, tell them you will join them on January 1 (or whenever your bonus is paid).

I lateraled in August and my firm paid my full bonus for my class year without me having to ask for it.

Did they pay it as a sign on or when everyone else’s bonuses at the new firm were paid?

[Yugihoe]

Tag, interested. Can anyone speak to pure sign-on bonuses that are not just there to make you whole for year-end bonuses? What about relocation bonuses? I've heard stories of first year relocating from one coast to another and getting $15k just to sign, $5k for moving AND all moving expenses reimbursed.

[shock259]

At this time of year, should be ~100%. If your new firm isn't willing to give you your full bonus for your current class year, tell them you will join them on January 1 (or whenever your bonus is paid).

I lateraled in August and my firm paid my full bonus for my class year without me having to ask for it.

Did they pay it as a sign on or when everyone else’s bonuses at the new firm were paid?

Mine was paid as a signing bonus - so I was paid full amount in cash at the end of the first pay period.

Also, I just looked back at my offer letter and my relocation expenses were paid in full and there was no cap. The firm just asked that I submit the estimate for the movers to them prior to agreeing to it, and they recommended a couple of companies. I think I also submitted my flight and some other random things too, but other than the movers, there wasn't really much in the way of "expenses". For what it's worth, my move was about halfway across the country.

[Anonymous User]

Not to hijack, but do firms ever put spouses of laterals in touch with any types of recruiters or anything to help them find jobs in a lateral relocation?

My spouse has a pretty good non-legal job, and if I relocate for a lateral opportunity she'd have to find something new. Just wondering if firms are ever helpful/supportive of that. It's a big factor for us, because her salary isn't crazy high, but it's significant and her benefits are great and don't cost anything.

[Anonymous User]

Some firms will, some firms won't. I had a lateral offer extended to me a little while ago with a signing bonus to help make up for (among other things) the fact that I'd be missing a lot of my bonus. But (many) other firms in the past have simply said "prorated and that's it."

I don't think you'll be able to sit on an offer for 3 months (or accept and wait 3 months to move), nor do I think that's necessarily the smart thing to do if you really want to change firms. Too much can happen between now and January that could cause the offer to go away.

[Anonymous User]

At this time of year, should be ~100%. If your new firm isn't willing to give you your full bonus for your current class year, tell them you will join them on January 1 (or whenever your bonus is paid).

I lateraled in August and my firm paid my full bonus for my class year without me having to ask for it.

Did they pay it as a sign on or when everyone else’s bonuses at the new firm were paid?

Mine was paid as a signing bonus - so I was paid full amount in cash at the end of the first pay period.

Also, I just looked back at my offer letter and my relocation expenses were paid in full and there was no cap. The firm just asked that I submit the estimate for the movers to them prior to agreeing to it, and they recommended a couple of companies. I think I also submitted my flight and some other random things too, but other than the movers, there wasn't really much in the way of "expenses". For what it's worth, my move was about halfway across the country.

Did you have to sit for the bar in the new state? If so, how was that? Did they give you any time to study? Pay for a course? And how long was it between your offer and your first day? How long did the conflicts process take?

[shock259]

Did you have to sit for the bar in the new state? If so, how was that? Did they give you any time to study? Pay for a course? And how long was it between your offer and your first day? How long did the conflicts process take?

1. Yes, I had to take the bar in my new state. I was within a few months of waiving in, but barely missed the cutoff.
2. It was moderately painful, but not horrible. Most of the materials came back to me pretty quickly (I had previously taken the bar about 3 years prior). Used BarBri for both bar exams.
3. Firm gave me 4 weeks off to study and paid for the BarBri course. They treated it like maternity/paternity leave for purposes of my bonus that year, which means that they essentially pro-rated my hours requirement on the basis of the absence (so, I had to bill something like ~1825 instead of 2000 to make bonus). And if I met those hours, they gave me a pro-rated bonus. And if I made 2000 hours then they just paid me the full bonus.
4. Offer and first day were about 6 weeks apart.
5. I can't really remember conflicts, but I don't think it took more than a week or two. I was conflicted out of one client, but otherwise, did not have any issues.

[Anonymous User]

Is it ever possible to get more than your class year bonus?

Junior associate considering lateraling to another market, where the COL is higher. Both my current firm and the new firm pay Cravath scale, just wondering if ever possible to negotiate a sign-on bonus higher than my market bonus this year for my class to makeup for the COL adjustment.

Also, how do firms handle the fact that we don't know what market bonuses are yet? Let's say my bonus this year is $25k, what if my new firm offers $25k as sign-on, but then when Cravath announces the market rate for bonuses this year, my class gets $35k instead. Will the new firm you lateralled to typically offer a true-up?

[shock259]

A true up seems really unlikely, but I suppose you could ask. My firm was clear to call it "signing bonus" as an accommodation for making a mid-year transition. I think you're basically running the risk.

For what it is worth, it seems really unlikely that the bonuses would go up this year in light of the recent salary raise. Guessing they'll stay the same.