2021 Special Bonuses Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone think MoFo will announce today? Or perhaps they won’t announce at all.

[Anonymous User]

Baker Botts match, payable in July and in January '22 to associates who meet the normal annual(ized) targets.

[Anonymous User]

MoFo match. June/December. Hours requirement. Smaller amount in June followed by the larger amount in December. If you don’t meet it by June, you can meet it by December for a full amount.

[Anonymous User]

MoFo just matched, payable in June and December.

[Anonymous User]

MoFo just matched, payable in June and December.

[Anonymous User]

1. Annoying to watch people try to equate compensation between someone billing 1700 at a v100 vs. someone cranking 2800 at a v5 as though they're remotely the same experience.
2. Equally annoying to watch TLS endlessly whine about comp. If you want to be paid more, go lateral to Latham/Skadden M&A and demand to get paid. If you went to a firm for the "culture" or "lifestyle" seems like you didn't go for the "comp".

I really don't think it's fair to assume that everyone at a V10 is working substantially more than everyone at a V100. There are plenty of people billing 2,500+ in the V51-100 range, and if you were billing 1,700 regularly you'd probably be worrying about getting the talk.

And the lateral outcomes described in the earlier post are unreasonable extremes. No one’s lateraling from Seattle to NY, from V50 to V10, or from litigation to corporate. It’s: Do I want to practice litigation at Perkins DC office or try to go to AP’s litigation shop and make market? Or a lateral from a NY V60 corporate to a NY V40 corporate.

Uhhh...I'm literally about to lateral from a sub-V50 to a V10, and I know someone who lateraled from litigation to corporate. I don't know where you got the idea that these things don't happen.

[Anonymous User]

I'm a partner at a V100 in a non-NY major market and this is higher than my rate, FYI.

5th year at a V100...my rate is a bit over $1k (same for all US offices), but I'm sure realization is nowhere near that.

And again this is why you really can't infer hours from RPL: SulCrom probably is getting way more revenue per hour from a 5th year than my firm gets from me.

[Anonymous User]

Can we talk about how associates in RALEIGH and ATLANTA are getting PAID? Cravath scale in low, low, low cost of living places.

Forget special bonuses. Does this mean NY to $200? 220?

?? Most firms in Raleigh and ATL are not Cravath/$190k starting

I'm not completely sure of this, but didn't Charlotte moved to 190 before Atlanta did? At least Cadwalader has been that way for a while, but maybe the Southern/non-NY firms in CLT aren't there yet. It would make sense for the next steps to be, in order: 1) Atlanta goes 190 across the board of proper BigLaw; 2) Charlotte and maybe even Raleigh and Richmond do too (thinking Hunton, McGuire, Moore Van Allen, Holland & Knight if they're not already there); 3) assuming the entire idea of location/offices continues to exist and there isn't some ongoing work-from-anywhere revolution, then whenever NYC goes to 210 hopefully in the next couple of years, the South shall lag again by a few years.

[Anonymous User]

Can we talk about how associates in RALEIGH and ATLANTA are getting PAID? Cravath scale in low, low, low cost of living places.

Forget special bonuses. Does this mean NY to $200? 220?

?? Most firms in Raleigh and ATL are not Cravath/$190k starting

I'm not completely sure of this, but didn't Charlotte moved to 190 before Atlanta did? At least Cadwalader has been that way for a while, but maybe the Southern/non-NY firms in CLT aren't there yet. It would make sense for the next steps to be, in order: 1) Atlanta goes 190 across the board of proper BigLaw; 2) Charlotte and maybe even Raleigh and Richmond do too (thinking Hunton, McGuire, Moore Van Allen, Holland & Knight if they're not already there); 3) assuming the entire idea of location/offices continues to exist and there isn't some ongoing work-from-anywhere revolution, then whenever NYC goes to 210 hopefully in the next couple of years, the South shall lag again by a few years.

I don’t think anyone in Atl other than AB KS and maybeeee Troutman/Sutherland/GT can afford to go to 190. They could all afford it for juniors but it really squeezes profits when you’re paying midlefels and seniors 300+ But billing them out at Atl rates, not NYC rates

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

V5 2nd year, I bill $915 an hour so I wouldn’t be shocked if our 6th years are somewhere in that ballpark

Dang, this is the highest standard rate I know of. I knew all the NY V10s were over $1000 for midlevels by now and superstar partners are now regularly billing $2000+ but whew, $915 for a second-year.

I'm old enough to remember partners crack $1000 being a big scandal. 2007ish. Raise rates 6% a year like clockwork and that's what happens though.

[Anonymous User]

V5 2nd year, I bill $915 an hour so I wouldn’t be shocked if our 6th years are somewhere in that ballpark

Dang, this is the highest standard rate I know of. I knew all the NY V10s were over $1000 for fourth-years by now and superstar partners are now regularly billing $2000+ but whew, $915 for a second-year.

Do you know DPW rate by any chance? I heard their rates are pretty high too.

[2013]

V5 2nd year, I bill $915 an hour so I wouldn’t be shocked if our 6th years are somewhere in that ballpark

Dang, this is the highest standard rate I know of. I knew all the NY V10s were over $1000 for midlevels by now and superstar partners are now regularly billing $2000+ but whew, $915 for a second-year.

I'm old enough to remember partners crack $1000 being a big scandal. 2007ish. Raise rates 6% a year like clockwork and that's what happens though.

Yeah $915 for a second year is the highest I’ve ever seen. I think Kirkland/Weil in their bankruptcy filings have associates starting at like $650

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

V5 2nd year, I bill $915 an hour so I wouldn’t be shocked if our 6th years are somewhere in that ballpark

Dang, this is the highest standard rate I know of. I knew all the NY V10s were over $1000 for fourth-years by now and superstar partners are now regularly billing $2000+ but whew, $915 for a second-year.

Do you know DPW rate by any chance? I heard their rates are pretty high too.

I don't work at DPW but can tell you they have historically had among the highest rates.

I would be shocked if they were doing $915 for a second year though. I think anon is S&C.

[Anonymous User]

1. Annoying to watch people try to equate compensation between someone billing 1700 at a v100 vs. someone cranking 2800 at a v5 as though they're remotely the same experience.
2. Equally annoying to watch TLS endlessly whine about comp. If you want to be paid more, go lateral to Latham/Skadden M&A and demand to get paid. If you went to a firm for the "culture" or "lifestyle" seems like you didn't go for the "comp".

I really don't think it's fair to assume that everyone at a V10 is working substantially more than everyone at a V100. There are plenty of people billing 2,500+ in the V51-100 range, and if you were billing 1,700 regularly you'd probably be worrying about getting the talk.

And the lateral outcomes described in the earlier post are unreasonable extremes. No one’s lateraling from Seattle to NY, from V50 to V10, or from litigation to corporate. It’s: Do I want to practice litigation at Perkins DC office or try to go to AP’s litigation shop and make market? Or a lateral from a NY V60 corporate to a NY V40 corporate.

Uhhh...I'm literally about to lateral from a sub-V50 to a V10, and I know someone who lateraled from litigation to corporate. I don't know where you got the idea that these things don't happen.

Nearly everyone's finances are out. There are a ton of shops where revenues and RPL is mostly flat/marginally increased but profits are up (again, not by much) -- that means expense reduction, not increased volume of work. For the shops that have already matched, their financials match what everyone knew all along -- crushed with work and financials are up on nearly all accounts.

For everyone else, it's a substantially different story. At least one of the firms referenced here, their revenue is flat and their PEP is up like...$80k, which again, just means expense reductions.

[Anonymous User]

Flat financials year-to-year doesn't mean the associates at those firms weren't busy last year, or that even if they were slow last year they're not super busy right now. My practice was quite slow last year and is going absolute gangbugsters right now, and I know some of the other groups were insanely busy last year (and continue to be).

[Anonymous User]

V5 2nd year, I bill $915 an hour so I wouldn’t be shocked if our 6th years are somewhere in that ballpark

Dang, this is the highest standard rate I know of. I knew all the NY V10s were over $1000 for midlevels by now and superstar partners are now regularly billing $2000+ but whew, $915 for a second-year.

I'm old enough to remember partners crack $1000 being a big scandal. 2007ish. Raise rates 6% a year like clockwork and that's what happens though.

Yeah $915 for a second year is the highest I’ve ever seen. I think Kirkland/Weil in their bankruptcy filings have associates starting at like $650

Last fee app I saw for Weil had their first years at $900+

[Anonymous User]

V5 2nd year, I bill $915 an hour so I wouldn’t be shocked if our 6th years are somewhere in that ballpark

Dang, this is the highest standard rate I know of. I knew all the NY V10s were over $1000 for midlevels by now and superstar partners are now regularly billing $2000+ but whew, $915 for a second-year.

I'm old enough to remember partners crack $1000 being a big scandal. 2007ish. Raise rates 6% a year like clockwork and that's what happens though.

Yeah $915 for a second year is the highest I’ve ever seen. I think Kirkland/Weil in their bankruptcy filings have associates starting at like $650

Last fee app I saw for Weil had their first years at $900+

This is all nuts. I'm a 5th year at a non-NY V40, and my rate is in the low $800s. And my realization ends up coming out to usually $300-700 (wide range, I know, but that's what it is). I have no insight into what of that is time written off v. discounts.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Last fee app I saw for Weil had their first years at $900+

I'm like 99% sure that either the person you saw is not a first year or something abnormal is going on there. It would be wildly inconsistent with anything they've ever done prior to this year.

[Anonymous User]

Last fee app I saw for Weil had their first years at $900+

I'm like 99% sure that either the person you saw is not a first year or something abnormal is going on there. It would be wildly inconsistent with anything they've ever done prior to this year.

Just checked again, I was looking at two third years who were billing at $935, but one was a double clerk so they weren't admitted until 2020, and someone else who was an LLM or something who also wasn't admitted until 2020. The way the entries were laid out made it look like they were first years.

Looks like first years are up to $770, which is still nuts. Hard to be exact, but it looks like RX associates break $900 around years 2-3 and break $1000 around years 3-4. Associates top out at a little over $1000, then it starts creeping up again once you get into 8+ year counsel and partners. Then your Matt Barrs et al are at ~$1700.

[2013]

Last fee app I saw for Weil had their first years at $900+

I'm like 99% sure that either the person you saw is not a first year or something abnormal is going on there. It would be wildly inconsistent with anything they've ever done prior to this year.

Just checked again, I was looking at two third years who were billing at $935, but one was a double clerk so they weren't admitted until 2020, and someone else who was an LLM or something who also wasn't admitted until 2020. The way the entries were laid out made it look like they were first years.

Looks like first years are up to $770, which is still nuts. Hard to be exact, but it looks like RX associates break $900 around years 2-3 and break $1000 around years 3-4. Associates top out at a little over $1000, then it starts creeping up again once you get into 8+ year counsel and partners. Then your Matt Barrs et al are at ~$1700.

I checked a filing from the summer and my friend (2nd year) and other 2nd years were billing out at $730 for corporate. It seemed that first years were billing out at $595. My other friend (4th year) was at $930.

So I guess it makes sense that they bumped it $100/hr or so since then.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Last fee app I saw for Weil had their first years at $900+

I'm like 99% sure that either the person you saw is not a first year or something abnormal is going on there. It would be wildly inconsistent with anything they've ever done prior to this year.

Just checked again, I was looking at two third years who were billing at $935, but one was a double clerk so they weren't admitted until 2020, and someone else who was an LLM or something who also wasn't admitted until 2020. The way the entries were laid out made it look like they were first years.

Looks like first years are up to $770, which is still nuts. Hard to be exact, but it looks like RX associates break $900 around years 2-3 and break $1000 around years 3-4. Associates top out at a little over $1000, then it starts creeping up again once you get into 8+ year counsel and partners. Then your Matt Barrs et al are at ~$1700.

That makes sense. I hear numbers like this now.

Everyone says it's crazy, but I think given how much everyone is working, they should be even higher. I would be thrilled if 10% of my clients went somewhere else.

[Anonymous User]

That makes sense. I hear numbers like this now.

Everyone says it's crazy, but I think given how much everyone is working, they should be even higher. I would be thrilled if 10% of my clients went somewhere else.

Seriously, if you've got work than you know what to do with you should raise your rates. A partner at my firm was complaining to me that if we tried that our clients would go elsewhere and ... I mean that sounds great to me right now. We'd probably net out pretty well too (there aren't a ton of people who do this practice so like...there's an actual limit to how much business we could lose).

[Auxilio]

Timing of this whole thing is perfect, just got vault survey so get to give 1s to all the cheap ass firms.

[Anonymous User]

Timing of this whole thing is perfect, just got vault survey so get to give 1s to all the cheap ass firms.

This is the way. Just make it a convention to give 1s to any firm that fleeces associates.

[Anonymous User]

Timing of this whole thing is perfect, just got vault survey so get to give 1s to all the cheap ass firms.

This is the way. Just make it a convention to give 1s to any firm that fleeces associates.

Also Willkie better be V5 next year.