Tracking COVID-19's effect on V100 associate pay/layoffs Forum

[Chrstgtr]

Cravath forcing associates into vacation, saying it won't roll over vacation days into the next year, offering voluntary retirement packages to staff, and asking staff to leave.

What is the purpose of forcing associates into vacation? Aren't they still paid? Is this happening for both corporate and litigation?

At least initially, I think a lot of firms wanted to get the vacations out of the way, so there wasn't a rush with everyone wanting to take vacation at the same time when the pandemic ends.

[hangtime813]

Cravath forcing associates into vacation, saying it won't roll over vacation days into the next year, offering voluntary retirement packages to staff, and asking staff to leave.

What is the purpose of forcing associates into vacation? Aren't they still paid? Is this happening for both corporate and litigation?

At least initially, I think a lot of firms wanted to get the vacations out of the way, so there wasn't a rush with everyone wanting to take vacation at the same time when the pandemic ends.

Firms (and other companies) probably want their employees to take their vacation now while the work is slow/nonexistent rather than take the vacation later when the works picks back up. From an accounting standpoint it also makes their P/L look better.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Cravath forcing associates into vacation, saying it won't roll over vacation days into the next year, offering voluntary retirement packages to staff, and asking staff to leave.

What is the purpose of forcing associates into vacation? Aren't they still paid? Is this happening for both corporate and litigation?

At least initially, I think a lot of firms wanted to get the vacations out of the way, so there wasn't a rush with everyone wanting to take vacation at the same time when the pandemic ends.

TITCR.

(Hangtime's point about workflow is reasonable too, but firms can't have half their associates go skiing in November.)

[Anonymous User]

Baker Botts interim bonus notification received today via individual email from payroll. It is exactly the amount that was adjusted down for the three months of May–July. So the bonus brings my compensation back to base ytd through 07/31. My billable hours for May–July annualized to 2,150+ fwiw.

[Anonymous User]

Baker Botts interim bonus notification received today via individual email from payroll. It is exactly the amount that was adjusted down for the three months of May–July. So the bonus brings my compensation back to base ytd through 07/31. My billable hours for May–July annualized to 2,150+ fwiw.

This is not what happened for everyone. There are multiple people at the firm (in corporate) who got less while on pace for over 2,000 hours for the year (but not on pace for over 2,000 for the 3 month period). It feels very strange they would pay these bonuses based on hours for 3 months, not the full firm year to date.

[Anonymous User]

Baker Botts interim bonus notification received today via individual email from payroll. It is exactly the amount that was adjusted down for the three months of May–July. So the bonus brings my compensation back to base ytd through 07/31. My billable hours for May–July annualized to 2,150+ fwiw.

This is not what happened for everyone. There are multiple people at the firm (in corporate) who got less while on pace for over 2,000 hours for the year (but not on pace for over 2,000 for the 3 month period). It feels very strange they would pay these bonuses based on hours for 3 months, not the full firm year to date.

By “not what happened for everyone,” are you saying that some Corp associates who were on pace to meet hours during the three-month period got less than a make-whole bonus?

Or are you saying only that some associates who were not on pace during the three-month period (but were on pace for the year) disagree with the firm using that period to determine bonuses?

[Anonymous User]

Baker Botts interim bonus notification received today via individual email from payroll. It is exactly the amount that was adjusted down for the three months of May–July. So the bonus brings my compensation back to base ytd through 07/31. My billable hours for May–July annualized to 2,150+ fwiw.

This is not what happened for everyone. There are multiple people at the firm (in corporate) who got less while on pace for over 2,000 hours for the year (but not on pace for over 2,000 for the 3 month period). It feels very strange they would pay these bonuses based on hours for 3 months, not the full firm year to date.

By “not what happened for everyone,” are you saying that some Corp associates who were on pace to meet hours during the three-month period got less than a make-whole bonus?

Or are you saying only that some associates who were not on pace during the three-month period (but were on pace for the year) disagree with the firm using that period to determine bonuses?

There were associates on pace for full year 2,000+ hours (some hundreds of hours ahead of pace) that did not get the full bonus. They were not on pace for over 2,000 for the 3 month May-July window.

[Anonymous User]

So for BB what do you think end of year will look like. Don’t we have to fight for the 20% in August and then the 10% back as well?

[ajax]

Anyone have paycuts reversed? Or have a good sense of when/if they will be?

[pinkdrink90]

Anyone have paycuts reversed? Or have a good sense of when/if they will be?

Lots of firms have started rolling back paycuts in the past week or so! Above the Law's "Big Law" section has articles on several of the firms!

[transferquestiontls]

Skadden announced layoffs just under 4% of its professional staffs across the us offices according to ABAjournal.

[Anonymous User]

Hogan Lovells 10% associate/counsel cut rolled back in full plus back pay to make everyone whole.

https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020 ... e-to-june/

[Anonymous User]

Anyone interested in tracking the effects of COVID-19 on associate pay at V100 law firms? I'll start the list below. I recognize that Vault is a flawed ranking system, but I'm putting these in order of the current Vault rankings for the sake of organization and seeing the effects on the "most prestigious" firms.

Updated Fri May 15, 2020 4:00 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) (today's updates in purple)

Summary Stats:

• 41 of the V100 have (reportedly or allegedly) implemented compensation freezes/cuts or layoffs.
• These 41 include 11 V50s and 30 V51-100 firms.
• The largest pay cut to have been announced is 25%, by Cadwalader (V52) and Arent Fox (V77).
• The highest Vault-ranked firm to have announced compensation freezes/cuts or layoffs is Boies Schiller (V24). (Note: Boies Schiller asserts its layoffs are due to partner defections.)

List of Firms:

• Boies Schiller (V24) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off (purportedly due to partner defections)
• Hogan Lovells (V27) - 15% pay cut for associates making >$400k; 10% pay cut for all other associates
• Baker McKenzie (V32) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Orrick (V34) - 15% pay cut for senior associates; 10% pay cut for junior and mid-level associates
• Mayer Brown (V35) - 15% pay cut for associates; voluntary 12-week sabbatical while being paid 25% of normal salary (or 35% of normal salary if pro bono work is performed)
• Goodwin Procter (V37) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off (purportedly due in part to performance issues)
• K&L Gates (V40) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Shearman (V44) - Voluntary 3-6 month sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary (or 40% of normal salary if pro bono work is performed); alleged layoff of associates who failed to win the H1B lottery who were previously promised reassignment overseas (see http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10425068); alleged layoffs not publicly reported
• Baker Botts (V45) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Linklaters (V46) - 50% of bonus deferred; salary reviews deferred by six months
• Perkins Coie (V49) - 15% pay cut for associates and patent agents

• Cadwalader (V52) - 25% pay cut for associates
• Dentons (V55) - 20% pay cut for all associates except first-years (second-years get a slightly less than 20% cut so they don't get paid less than first-years); 15% pay cut for first-year associates; 50% of 2019 bonus deferred to the second half of 2020
• McDermott Will & Emery (V57) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off
• Freshfields (V58) - Associate pay frozen; bonus reviews deferred by five months
• Reed Smith (V61) - 15% pay cut for associates; alleged unspecified percentage of associates laid off (see viewtopic.php?p=10426582#p10426582); alleged layoffs not publicly reported
• Pillsbury (V62) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Holland & Knight (V64) - 17.5% pay cut for associates
• BakerHostetler (V65) - ~16% pay cut for associates (10% annualized over the entire year)
• Norton Rose (V66) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off; 15% pay cut for remaining associates
• Nixon Peabody (V68) - 5% of associates laid off; 5% of associates furloughed; 10% pay cut for remaining associates
• Crowell & Moring (V69) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Venable (V70) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Squire Patton Boggs (V72) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Sheppard Mullin (V74) - 12% pay cut for associates
• Arent Fox (V77) - 25% pay cut for associates
• Locke Lord (V79) - 10% pay cut for associates
• Katten (V81) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Bryan Cave (V82) - 15% pay cut for associates; voluntary sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary; voluntary part-time schedule with corresponding reduction in salary
• Seyfarth Shaw (V83) - ~50 attorneys furloughed for 90 days; 10% pay cut for associates
• Pepper Hamilton (V84) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Fox Rothschild (V85) - 10-15% pay cut for associates (10% of pay up to $200k, plus 20% of pay over $200k, provided that the maximum total pay cut is 15%)
• Duane Morris (V87) - 15% pay cut for associates; elimination of 401(k) matching
• Davis Wright Tremaine (V90) - 12% pay cut for associates
• Blank Rome (V92) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Kilpatrick (V93) - 5% pay cut for associates
• Ballard Spahr (V94) - 15% pay cut for associates; no raises
• Faegre Drinker (V95) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Mintz Levin (V96) - 10% pay cut for associates; no discretionary bonus (hours bonus remains untouched); 5% pay cut for patent agents
• Foley Hoag (V98) - 15% pay cut for associates; 7.5% pay cut for patent agents making >$150k
• Littler (V99) - 13% pay cut for all associates except first and second-years; 11% pay cut for first and second-year associates

Tally by Decile:

• 0 V1-9
• 0 V10-19
• 2 V20-29
• 4 V30-39
• 5 V40-49
• 4 V50-59
• 7 V60-69
• 5 V70-79
• 6 V80-89
• 8 V90-99

Dentons salary cuts have been scaled back by 50%. Are we still updating this table?

[Anonymous User]

Would be very interested in an update that shows which firms reversed cuts and which have paid or promised to pay back associates.

My firm had a steep cut, still hadn’t reversed it even though the firm says revenues are doing great, and so associates here are fucking livid (as they should be).

[rshackleford123]

As of a few days ago, ATL had an article that Troutman was rolling back paycuts and would be attempting to make associates whole for the reductions that have occurred.

Ogletree also announced rollback of cuts and also implemented a $10,000 bonus for associates who hit 1700 hours (though I think that was announced a few weeks ago).

[Anonymous User]

NRF announced salary cut rollback. True up to be discussed at the end of the year.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone interested in tracking the effects of COVID-19 on associate pay at V100 law firms? I'll start the list below. I recognize that Vault is a flawed ranking system, but I'm putting these in order of the current Vault rankings for the sake of organization and seeing the effects on the "most prestigious" firms.

Updated Fri May 15, 2020 4:00 pm Eastern Time (U.S.) (today's updates in purple)

Summary Stats:

• 41 of the V100 have (reportedly or allegedly) implemented compensation freezes/cuts or layoffs.
• These 41 include 11 V50s and 30 V51-100 firms.
• The largest pay cut to have been announced is 25%, by Cadwalader (V52) and Arent Fox (V77).
• The highest Vault-ranked firm to have announced compensation freezes/cuts or layoffs is Boies Schiller (V24). (Note: Boies Schiller asserts its layoffs are due to partner defections.)

List of Firms:

• Boies Schiller (V24) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off (purportedly due to partner defections)
• Hogan Lovells (V27) - 15% pay cut for associates making >$400k; 10% pay cut for all other associates
• Baker McKenzie (V32) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Orrick (V34) - 15% pay cut for senior associates; 10% pay cut for junior and mid-level associates
• Mayer Brown (V35) - 15% pay cut for associates; voluntary 12-week sabbatical while being paid 25% of normal salary (or 35% of normal salary if pro bono work is performed)
• Goodwin Procter (V37) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off (purportedly due in part to performance issues)
• K&L Gates (V40) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Shearman (V44) - Voluntary 3-6 month sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary (or 40% of normal salary if pro bono work is performed); alleged layoff of associates who failed to win the H1B lottery who were previously promised reassignment overseas (see http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... #p10425068); alleged layoffs not publicly reported
• Baker Botts (V45) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Linklaters (V46) - 50% of bonus deferred; salary reviews deferred by six months
• Perkins Coie (V49) - 15% pay cut for associates and patent agents

• Cadwalader (V52) - 25% pay cut for associates
• Dentons (V55) - 20% pay cut for all associates except first-years (second-years get a slightly less than 20% cut so they don't get paid less than first-years); 15% pay cut for first-year associates; 50% of 2019 bonus deferred to the second half of 2020
• McDermott Will & Emery (V57) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off
• Freshfields (V58) - Associate pay frozen; bonus reviews deferred by five months
• Reed Smith (V61) - 15% pay cut for associates; alleged unspecified percentage of associates laid off (see viewtopic.php?p=10426582#p10426582); alleged layoffs not publicly reported
• Pillsbury (V62) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Holland & Knight (V64) - 17.5% pay cut for associates
• BakerHostetler (V65) - ~16% pay cut for associates (10% annualized over the entire year)
• Norton Rose (V66) - Unspecified percentage of associates laid off; 15% pay cut for remaining associates
• Nixon Peabody (V68) - 5% of associates laid off; 5% of associates furloughed; 10% pay cut for remaining associates
• Crowell & Moring (V69) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Venable (V70) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Squire Patton Boggs (V72) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Sheppard Mullin (V74) - 12% pay cut for associates
• Arent Fox (V77) - 25% pay cut for associates
• Locke Lord (V79) - 10% pay cut for associates
• Katten (V81) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Bryan Cave (V82) - 15% pay cut for associates; voluntary sabbatical while being paid 30% of normal salary; voluntary part-time schedule with corresponding reduction in salary
• Seyfarth Shaw (V83) - ~50 attorneys furloughed for 90 days; 10% pay cut for associates
• Pepper Hamilton (V84) - 20% pay cut for associates
• Fox Rothschild (V85) - 10-15% pay cut for associates (10% of pay up to $200k, plus 20% of pay over $200k, provided that the maximum total pay cut is 15%)
• Duane Morris (V87) - 15% pay cut for associates; elimination of 401(k) matching
• Davis Wright Tremaine (V90) - 12% pay cut for associates
• Blank Rome (V92) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Kilpatrick (V93) - 5% pay cut for associates
• Ballard Spahr (V94) - 15% pay cut for associates; no raises
• Faegre Drinker (V95) - 15% pay cut for associates
• Mintz Levin (V96) - 10% pay cut for associates; no discretionary bonus (hours bonus remains untouched); 5% pay cut for patent agents
• Foley Hoag (V98) - 15% pay cut for associates; 7.5% pay cut for patent agents making >$150k
• Littler (V99) - 13% pay cut for all associates except first and second-years; 11% pay cut for first and second-year associates

Tally by Decile:

• 0 V1-9
• 0 V10-19
• 2 V20-29
• 4 V30-39
• 5 V40-49
• 4 V50-59
• 7 V60-69
• 5 V70-79
• 6 V80-89
• 8 V90-99

Dentons salary cuts have been scaled back by 50%. Are we still updating this table?

Unsure if being updated, but Bryan Cave had lots of publicly reported layoffs of associates.

[Auxilio]

Ropes & Gray offering one year voluntary deferral/fellowships (deferral pays 40k, unclear what fellowship does).

https://www.law360.com/articles/1309002 ... a-year-off

[mardash]

Ropes & Gray offering one year voluntary deferral/fellowships (deferral pays 40k, unclear what fellowship does).

https://www.law360.com/articles/1309002 ... a-year-off

Interesting. I understand some of the "better" firms did this in the financial crisis.

[Anonymous User]

Mayer Brown announced last Friday that salary cuts will end this month.

[Anonymous User]

Cooley announced special bonuses, and also confirmed their bonus pool will be no lower than last years pool https://abovethelaw.com/2020/09/cooley-bonuses/

[Anonymous User]

K&L Gates reversed salary cuts, effective mid October.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any insight into Baker Botts

[Anonymous User]

Bryan Cave just laid off about 118 employees (attorneys + staff). Not sure on breakdown

[Anonymous User]

Bryan Cave just laid off about 118 employees (attorneys + staff). Not sure on breakdown

Source? I don’t think this is accurate. To my knowledge there has only been one round of layoffs, which occurred months ago. BC reinstated salaries to full already and will be playing full bonuses. True up payment decision to be made at end of year.