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I'm a second year (class of 2017) and am thinking of switching firms at some point this year. I've heard that laterals often can negotiate to get their year end bonus as a sign on bonus instead. I.e. colleagues I know who lateraled Q4 last year, did so with bonus in hand since they weren't staying around for payout at our current firm.

I'm wondering if the above is true only late in the year. What happens to laterals during Q1 or Q2 -- can you still negotiate to get your bonus as a signing bonus? This would be 25k for class of 2017 so not a small drop (and if it's a signing bonus, I'd get it months ahead of schedule too).

Separately, do associates lateral sometimes as a way to guarantee a bonus? Say you're really slow by June and it seems like a stretch that you'll hit the minimum billable requirement -- you could do this as a 3rd year associate and end up not billing much and still securing a 50k payout. Figure if you lateral twice during your big law career, you could end up with a good amount of $$$ as a ratio of hours billed before leaving big law.

If you lateral earlier in the year you can negotiate to get a full year-end bonus as opposed to a bonus paid pro rata based on your time at the new firm.

It’s all negotiable and will depend on firm, need, class year, etc. I know seniors that lateraled in Q4 and got a full bonus guaranteed, for example. I know people that were offered pro rata, full bonus with appropriately lower hours target, etc. It honestly depends on a lot of factors.

I lateraled as a midlevel in Q3 to get a bonus - was way under hours at first shop but got it guaranteed at new shop. Did take a little negotiation and I had competing offers. I (or any competent 4th-8th year) is worth way more than my salary to a big law firm with enough business.

It's definitely all negotiable, as folks have said. But it's easier to negotiate later in the year, as you've noted. As a second year, though, you may find it a bit more difficult. You don't have a ton of skills yet that the firm is going to be desperate to have.

I guess you could lateral as a way to "secure" your bonus mid year, but it seems like a lot of hassle for minimal gain. There's always a decent chance that you get put into a group with a screamer. And it doesn't really look good to have hopped around to 3-4 firms by the time you're a 5th year. People will assume you've been forced out of at least some.