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I was speaking to a recruiter today about applying to firms and they mentioned Vedder. I’m trying to relocate to Chicago but I’d like to stay at a market/near market firm. The recruiter insisted that Vedder has the full scale if you hit the billable hours requirement. Can anyone verify this?

Also, the recruiter said the bonuses are “competitive,” but I don’t know what that means. Are bonuses at Vedder near market?

I have to really overhaul my resume if I want to submit, so I’m wondering if it’s something I’d even consider before doing that.

"competitive" tends to mean market average for that geographical area.

Interested as well.

Anon bc I interviewed with them and had a recruiter

Obviously their comp starts at 190k but I didn’t get the sense (or confirmation) that they pay market bonuses. Someone can correct me but I also *think* that their comp isn’t the full cravath scale for all class years (which would suggest that they aren’t paying full market bonuses)

I don’t interpret “competitive” bonuses to mean market bonuses. I know of a number of V100s in the city that don’t pay full market bonuses and start at 190k and then phase out to black box comp beyond that. I assume Vedder follows this pattern or something close

Edit: one more note. Whether Vedder pays market bonuses is something that the recruiter should be able to easily confirm if they do. Standardized class bonuses are something the firm and the recruiter would definitely tell you about since it’s a big draw. Responding vaguely with only that the bonuses are “competitive” suggests they don’t pay market

Also interested. To the last anonymous poster - do you have a sense as to what the comp structure realistically looks like compared to the lock-step?

It's Cravath scale. My interviewer told me on OCI 2 years ago.

OP here.

So I guess the recruiter was not wrong when they said it’s Cravath scale. I’m honestly kind of shocked that it is Cravath scale. Thanks for the info!

Different poster (anonymous b/c in talks with firms) - Is anyone willing to share the reputation and culture of the firm from what they know? Thanks in advance.

edit-

Just heard from a friend who received an offer that it is full cravath

To the last anon - in terms of compressed salary, do you know how compressed? Thanks!

edit

Salary phases out and you’ll make about 30-40k less as a third or fourth year. You also will definitely not get a bonus. They are contingent on a billable target but it’s difficult to hit since as there isn’t enough work to go around (associates compete against each other for billable hours).