Parental Leave and Bonuses Forum

[Anonymous User]

I took parental leave this year and apparently my bonus is prorated based on that (i.e. if you take 2 months, you get 5/6 the bonus, etc.). I guess, I was a bit surprised by that. Is this how it works at other firms?

[Anonymous User]

That's how it works at my lower v100.

[Anonymous User]

There is no such bonus proration for parental leave at my V10 (but hours target is prorated).

[Anonymous User]

There is no such bonus proration for parental leave at my V10 (but hours target is prorated).

OP here, that's how it worked at my first firm. I'm more than a bit irritated about this. I guess I should have asked, but I didn't know this was something that varied by firm.

[bwh8813]

I took parental leave this year and apparently my bonus is prorated based on that (i.e. if you take 2 months, you get 5/6 the bonus, etc.). I guess, I was a bit surprised by that. Is this how it works at other firms?

I thought that was how it worked at my V30 but was pleasantly surprised to find out that bonus isn't prorated if you hit prorated target hours.

[objctnyrhnr]

To my knowledge, this is how it occurs at most, but not all, v50s. As far as I have heard, Morgan Lewis is the lowest ranked firm to do it in the more favorable way for the associates.

Either they pro rate down both target and bonus, or they only pro rate target down, or they just give you 40 or so billable equivalent hours for every week you’re out. Those are the three ways I’ve heard of it done, with the latter two being most favorable for associates and the first one being better for the firm of course.

[attorney589753]

To my knowledge, this is how it occurs at most, but not all, v50s. As far as I have heard, Morgan Lewis is the lowest ranked firm to do it in the more favorable way for the associates.

Either they pro rate down both target and bonus, or they only pro rate target down, or they just give you 40 or so billable equivalent hours for every week you’re out. Those are the three ways I’ve heard of it done, with the latter two being most favorable for associates and the first one being better for the firm of course.

This basically matches my understanding as well and have come to see it as a distinction between the true top ranked firms (almost bragging about how lock-step they are) and rest of v50/v100 (bonus has a billable hour requirement and can get pro rated for leaves). I think it actually adds up quite a bit; you might be surprised how many associates have a leave of some sorts in a given year, or spread over their years at a firm.

[lolwutpar]

As someone that lateraled, these are the kinds of things I wished I really thought about when I made the move. Financially, we're talking about tens of thousands of dollars if your firm is a "cheaper" firm. It's really unfortunate because you're working the same hours...