Lateral Payout Forum

[Anonymous User]

Considering a lateral opportunity (would require a relocation).

This would be my first time lateraling. If I get the offer, is it fairly standard that the firm will cover all moving expenses (without any cap) and will pay my expected end of year bonus for this year as a signing bonus?

Also, will I get paid out by my current firm for all vacation that I have accrued? I think I have almost 4 weeks of vacation (but only 5 days carry over to each new fiscal year), so since our new year started this month, am I down to 5 days again that I would be paid out for?

[Anonymous User]

Bonus: Depends on firm. Mine only offered a prorated bonus, no sign-on. Signing bonuses aren’t unheard of (at my firm) if the lateral really fills a niche.

We pay moving expenses to out of state laterals. Wouldn’t pay moving expenses for just cross town laterals.

[Anonymous User]

Yes, the firm will most likely pay moving expenses if you are moving cities; would not move if you're just moving, say, from downtown to uptown Manhattan for convenience. I don't know what you mean by "without a cap." They may or may not give you a hard cap; if they don't, it should be "reasonable" moving expenses. Some firms will reimburse for things like a broker's fee, but I think that's relatively rare.

I don't know that you should expect any signing bonus; it's negotiable. What they might do, if you negotiated this in advance, is pay your full expected end of year bonus rather than pro-rating it. But I don't know that you should expect an additional signing bonus that corresponds to your expected end of year bonus.

Yes, if your previous firm has vacation day accrual, you can cash out the days you have accrued. They're not going to pay out vacation days that you lost under their "use it or lose it" policy... if you're allowed to carry over only 5 days, then you have only 5 days carried over, plus whatever you'll accrue in the new fiscal year.

[Anonymous User]

Yes, the firm will most likely pay moving expenses if you are moving cities; would not move if you're just moving, say, from downtown to uptown Manhattan for convenience. I don't know what you mean by "without a cap." They may or may not give you a hard cap; if they don't, it should be "reasonable" moving expenses. Some firms will reimburse for things like a broker's fee, but I think that's relatively rare.

I don't know that you should expect any signing bonus; it's negotiable. What they might do, if you negotiated this in advance, is pay your full expected end of year bonus rather than pro-rating it. But I don't know that you should expect an additional signing bonus that corresponds to your expected end of year bonus.

Yes, if your previous firm has vacation day accrual, you can cash out the days you have accrued. They're not going to pay out vacation days that you lost under their "use it or lose it" policy... if you're allowed to carry over only 5 days, then you have only 5 days carried over, plus whatever you'll accrue in the new fiscal year.

Isn't there an exception to this in California though?

[Anonymous User]

You can cap vacation accrual in California - you just can't forfeit accrued vacation days under a "use it or lose it" policy. (Source: I work in CA at a firm that caps vacation accrual.)

[Anonymous User]

You can cap vacation accrual in California - you just can't forfeit accrued vacation days under a "use it or lose it" policy. (Source: I work in CA at a firm that caps vacation accrual.)

Yes, I am capped at 20 days (and had accrued my 20 days last year). Our firm policy is that only 5 carry over. So, my understanding is that since I am in our CA office, if I leave at the start of the new year, I'll be paid out for 20 days, not just the 5 that "carried over."

[Anonymous User]

Yes, the firm will most likely pay moving expenses if you are moving cities; would not move if you're just moving, say, from downtown to uptown Manhattan for convenience. I don't know what you mean by "without a cap." They may or may not give you a hard cap; if they don't, it should be "reasonable" moving expenses. Some firms will reimburse for things like a broker's fee, but I think that's relatively rare.

I don't know that you should expect any signing bonus; it's negotiable. What they might do, if you negotiated this in advance, is pay your full expected end of year bonus rather than pro-rating it. But I don't know that you should expect an additional signing bonus that corresponds to your expected end of year bonus.

Yes, if your previous firm has vacation day accrual, you can cash out the days you have accrued. They're not going to pay out vacation days that you lost under their "use it or lose it" policy... if you're allowed to carry over only 5 days, then you have only 5 days carried over, plus whatever you'll accrue in the new fiscal year.

Wrt the underlined above, what about the fee to break an apartment lease?

To lateral, I'd have to break my current apartment lease (relocation to different city, not across town). This lateral opportunity doesn't seem worth it if the firm wouldn't cover all of the moving expenses, and I'd have to pay to break my lease and leave behind my bonus from my previous firm (without getting trued up with a signing bonus of that amount from the new firm).

First time lateral here, so maybe this is just the norm and sometimes it ends up costing a lot of money to make a lateral move?

[lawfirmrecruiter]

Also keep in mind that moving expense reimbursements are considered taxable income.