2021 End of Year Bonuses Forum

[Joachim2017]

Kirkland announced

that Kirkland Concierge is available to wrap your holiday gifts if you’re too busy to do it yourself. For a fee, they’ll even pick them up and deliver them to your house wrapped.

This is the perk we were waiting for!

Why do they waste their money on stuff like this? Don't they realize associates would rather pocket the savings, however minor they may be once spread out? Or is it tailored more towards Boomer partners who are more likely to use a Concierge to run their errands for them?

[dyemond]

Goddamn people, either post about bonus news or do something else.

Also, re Concierge, it's alright. I've used it a few times.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland announced

that Kirkland Concierge is available to wrap your holiday gifts if you’re too busy to do it yourself. For a fee, they’ll even pick them up and deliver them to your house wrapped.

This is the perk we were waiting for!

But they will charge you to do it...

[Peck.173]

Kirkland announced

that Kirkland Concierge is available to wrap your holiday gifts if you’re too busy to do it yourself. For a fee, they’ll even pick them up and deliver them to your house wrapped.

This is the perk we were waiting for!

Why do they waste their money on stuff like this? Don't they realize associates would rather pocket the savings, however minor they may be once spread out? Or is it tailored more towards Boomer partners who are more likely to use a Concierge to run their errands for them?

Ding ding ding ding

[thisismytlsuername]

It's always weird to me when posters which what seem like incredibly long posting histories here (at least judging from their account creation date) seem to be oblivious to the reality of what is going on right now. I don't know maybe they started posting in high school and are still juniors. But even that wouldn't make sense because if you they were a junior they would realize that...there is no one around?

I've been a lawyer longer than you've been registered on this website.

The mid-level attrition right now is unprecedented (at least in the past two decades). People are very open about that, partners are very open about that. I can't imagine there has ever really been a time where V5 firms literally have to turn down work because of staffing shortages.

Having more law students right now or more first years (which at least at my firm isn't even the case) does absolutely nothing to fix the current problem and at best would make things better in four to five years.

Like this quote is kind of crazy to me:

"And you're certainly not the first put-upon associates who have been told by partners "We're hearing you, we know everyone is slammed, the firm is even TURNING DOWN WORK.""

I mean have people ever heard that before this year? Unless they are saying that partners lie and use this as a motivation tactic (which could definitely be the case), I would be shocked if that was ever the reality at largest firms. I could see this in the context of managing a first year's expectations that billing 2000 isn't enough when everyone else is billing 2400 but the firm actually turning down work is completely different.

Yes, I've heard it from multiple partners at the multiple different V5 - V100 firms I've worked at in my career. No one except the partners saying it know whether it's actually true, but it's been a common response to "everyone is so slammed right now, we're so miserable" for years.

[Anonymous User]

People at the 3rd-5th year have never been getting so many targeted in house opportunities; people I know leaving at that level are commonly getting all-in comp of 350-500k. Some people are getting raises.

3rd years getting 500k in-house offers? ronburgundyidontbelieveyou.gif

Sincerely, Mid-level on the hunt for in-house gigs getting comp offers way below that.

[Anonymous User]

Kirkland announced

that Kirkland Concierge is available to wrap your holiday gifts if you’re too busy to do it yourself. For a fee, they’ll even pick them up and deliver them to your house wrapped.

This is the perk we were waiting for!

Why do they waste their money on stuff like this? Don't they realize associates would rather pocket the savings, however minor they may be once spread out? Or is it tailored more towards Boomer partners who are more likely to use a Concierge to run their errands for them?

I don’t think it’s a big firm expense but I also think associates are much less likely to use it. It seems like it’s mostly for buying tickets, booking venues/hotels/etc. for entertainment, or locating home service professionals and obtaining quotes (I’ve used it for this, and it was helpful to have someone send me five quotes for a service I needed, and I could just email the low one and do no other work).

Some of the examples of successes they’ve shared are a bit sad: Concierge has planned a 5 year olds birthday party, bought gifts for anniversaries, stuff that is part of being a human and connecting with loved ones that some lawyers have farmed out in order to bill instead. But I think it’s a pretty useful thing that I rely on maybe once a year and I appreciate it like any minor firm perk.

[Winter is Coming]

It's always weird to me when posters which what seem like incredibly long posting histories here (at least judging from their account creation date) seem to be oblivious to the reality of what is going on right now. I don't know maybe they started posting in high school and are still juniors. But even that wouldn't make sense because if you they were a junior they would realize that...there is no one around?

I've been a lawyer longer than you've been registered on this website.

The mid-level attrition right now is unprecedented (at least in the past two decades). People are very open about that, partners are very open about that. I can't imagine there has ever really been a time where V5 firms literally have to turn down work because of staffing shortages.

Having more law students right now or more first years (which at least at my firm isn't even the case) does absolutely nothing to fix the current problem and at best would make things better in four to five years.

Like this quote is kind of crazy to me:

"And you're certainly not the first put-upon associates who have been told by partners "We're hearing you, we know everyone is slammed, the firm is even TURNING DOWN WORK.""

I mean have people ever heard that before this year? Unless they are saying that partners lie and use this as a motivation tactic (which could definitely be the case), I would be shocked if that was ever the reality at largest firms. I could see this in the context of managing a first year's expectations that billing 2000 isn't enough when everyone else is billing 2400 but the firm actually turning down work is completely different.

Yes, I've heard it from multiple partners at the multiple different V5 - V100 firms I've worked at in my career. No one except the partners saying it know whether it's actually true, but it's been a common response to "everyone is so slammed right now, we're so miserable" for years.

Got it, still think it is time to #doublethescale.

[Anonymous User]

It's always weird to me when posters which what seem like incredibly long posting histories here (at least judging from their account creation date) seem to be oblivious to the reality of what is going on right now. I don't know maybe they started posting in high school and are still juniors. But even that wouldn't make sense because if you they were a junior they would realize that...there is no one around?

I've been a lawyer longer than you've been registered on this website.

The mid-level attrition right now is unprecedented (at least in the past two decades). People are very open about that, partners are very open about that. I can't imagine there has ever really been a time where V5 firms literally have to turn down work because of staffing shortages.

Having more law students right now or more first years (which at least at my firm isn't even the case) does absolutely nothing to fix the current problem and at best would make things better in four to five years.

Like this quote is kind of crazy to me:

"And you're certainly not the first put-upon associates who have been told by partners "We're hearing you, we know everyone is slammed, the firm is even TURNING DOWN WORK.""

I mean have people ever heard that before this year? Unless they are saying that partners lie and use this as a motivation tactic (which could definitely be the case), I would be shocked if that was ever the reality at largest firms. I could see this in the context of managing a first year's expectations that billing 2000 isn't enough when everyone else is billing 2400 but the firm actually turning down work is completely different.

Yes, I've heard it from multiple partners at the multiple different V5 - V100 firms I've worked at in my career. No one except the partners saying it know whether it's actually true, but it's been a common response to "everyone is so slammed right now, we're so miserable" for years.

Got it, still think it is time to #doublethescale.

I’ve literally had to tell clients we can’t do projects because of staffing… but yet everything is normal like always. Stop replying to mister I’ve been a lawyer since you were in diapers but I can’t use logical reasoning. Let’s focus on the consensus that we need more money.

[Anonymous User]

Fried Frank match.

[Definitely Not North]

So, which firms are we waiting on as likely market-moving raisers (and why)?

- DPW (has raised the scale in the past)
- Milbank (has raised the scale in the past)
- STB (can't remember what they last did?)
- ?


Who else?

[Anonymous User]

So, which firms are we waiting on as likely market-moving raisers (and why)?

- DPW (has raised the scale in the past)
- Milbank (has raised the scale in the past)
- STB (can't remember what they last did?)
- ?


Who else?

I feel like in the past the raises came before many matched-am I wrong? Feels like more firms would wait if they though there might be a raise.

[Definitely Not North]

So, which firms are we waiting on as likely market-moving raisers (and why)?

- DPW (has raised the scale in the past)
- Milbank (has raised the scale in the past)
- STB (can't remember what they last did?)
- ?


Who else?

I feel like in the past the raises came before many matched-am I wrong? Feels like more firms would wait if they though there might be a raise.

Nah I don't think that's part of it. If one of these firms raises the early matchers will revise up.

[Definitely Not North]

And in any case, not many firms have matched anyway. That's basically what I'm getting at -- when DPW, Milbank, STB, etc., match or raise, that's when we can be confident that the scale is settled one way or the other.

[Anonymous User]

So, which firms are we waiting on as likely market-moving raisers (and why)?

- DPW (has raised the scale in the past)
- Milbank (has raised the scale in the past)
- STB (can't remember what they last did?)
- ?


Who else?

Willkie, perhaps. Kicked off 2021 special bonuses.

[Definitely Not North]

For example, nobody gives a shit what Fried Frank does. On the other hand if DPW and Milbank both did a clean match, I'd start to get worried nobody was going to raise.

[Definitely Not North]

So, which firms are we waiting on as likely market-moving raisers (and why)?

- DPW (has raised the scale in the past)
- Milbank (has raised the scale in the past)
- STB (can't remember what they last did?)
- ?


Who else?

Willkie, perhaps. Kicked off 2021 special bonuses.

Willkie is a good one. Updated list of bellwethers:

- DPW (has raised the scale in the past)
- Milbank (has raised the scale in the past)
- STB (can't remember what they last did?)
- Willkie (kicked off 2021 special bonuses)

[TheoO]

This thread increasingly makes for a great “Hitler angry at being told Steiner offensive won’t come” video.

[daedalus2309]

Ok, the anonymous posters who *gasp* work at V5s and V10s and have *gasp* seen the attrition numbers and they're worse than ever and have been told that *gasp* their firm is TURNING DOWN WORK have convinced me that this time is different than all the other times that has happened.

Here's an article on law firm attrition from 2006 and how it was HIGHER THAN EVER: https://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/lega ... on_in.html. Two years after this article firms (maybe even your fancy V5s and V10s!) went and fired everybody who was left even after the RECORD ATTRITION.

And you're certainly not the first put-upon associates who have been told by partners "We're hearing you, we know everyone is slammed, the firm is even TURNING DOWN WORK."

By all means, take that $500k fully remote 10-4 and no weekends job that all 8,000 of you think you can get on January 1 -- you're a fungible cog in a machine that will keep running without you. I don't care enough to do the math, but I have to imagine that law firm associates are making more on an inflation-adjusted basis than any time in the history of the profession. But yeah, I'm sure that an extra $20k-30k after taxes will make you happy.

Signed, someone who has been doing this shit for over a decade.

He’s right! Everything is fine

This poster’s very clear thesis, which I’ll dumb down for you idiots who have not been doing this shit for over a decade, is this:
1. Firms are paying record bonuses, including retention bonuses and unheard of bespoke bonuses to high billers

2. But point 1 is not a reaction to any substantive change in the labor market. In fact, if you think the huge retention payments are aimed at solving a retention problem, you’re an idiot who’s clearly only been doing this for 9 years or less! There is no retention problem!! The firms are just being nice in fact, this poster actually just talked to John Cravath (that may seem far fetched but I remind you that the poster has been doing this for at least 11 years holey moley!!!!), and this is just a thing that every firm has done all the time throughout the poster’s 11 or more year career

[tsk222]

This thread increasingly makes for a great “Hitler angry at being told Steiner offensive won’t come” video.

LMAO please make this video

[Anonymous User]

Ok, the anonymous posters who *gasp* work at V5s and V10s and have *gasp* seen the attrition numbers and they're worse than ever and have been told that *gasp* their firm is TURNING DOWN WORK have convinced me that this time is different than all the other times that has happened.

Here's an article on law firm attrition from 2006 and how it was HIGHER THAN EVER: https://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/lega ... on_in.html. Two years after this article firms (maybe even your fancy V5s and V10s!) went and fired everybody who was left even after the RECORD ATTRITION.

And you're certainly not the first put-upon associates who have been told by partners "We're hearing you, we know everyone is slammed, the firm is even TURNING DOWN WORK."

By all means, take that $500k fully remote 10-4 and no weekends job that all 8,000 of you think you can get on January 1 -- you're a fungible cog in a machine that will keep running without you. I don't care enough to do the math, but I have to imagine that law firm associates are making more on an inflation-adjusted basis than any time in the history of the profession. But yeah, I'm sure that an extra $20k-30k after taxes will make you happy.

Signed, someone who has been doing this shit for over a decade.

Nice to see some sanity in here.

[Anonymous User]

I've worked for 6 years at a V5 and every two years the same "it's the busiest we've ever seen it -- this is insane, we are turning down work" lines get trotted out. Every second year is positive that they're there at a time that's uniquely busy.

(That said, in my limited 6 years, I actually do think this is the worst that I've seen it, at least)

[Anonymous User]

People at the 3rd-5th year have never been getting so many targeted in house opportunities; people I know leaving at that level are commonly getting all-in comp of 350-500k. Some people are getting raises.

3rd years getting 500k in-house offers? ronburgundyidontbelieveyou.gif

Sincerely, Mid-level on the hunt for in-house gigs getting comp offers way below that.

Anon cause I don’t want to out I’m looking inhouse.

I’m a 5th year and I have two 350k-400k all-in package offers (one of which includes a signing bonus, so the comp may be lower after this year). I’m a specialist so my situation may be different from a general corp associate, but these jobs are out there, and they certainly aren’t 10-4. These are deal-driven roles and the interviewers specifically said I should expect to work at least 9 to 7 with occasional late nights and some weekends. But much better predictability ‘cause I’m really only servicing one client and would know the deal flows of all the deals, such that I would be able to plan vacations, etc. I’m on track for 2500 this year and really want to gtfo, but I’m weighing my options as we wait for DPW (or Milbank, or whatever) to announce increased year-end and another round of 2022 special bonuses, in which case I may just stick it out another year.

[Anonymous User]

I've worked for 6 years at a V5 and every two years the same "it's the busiest we've ever seen it -- this is insane, we are turning down work" lines get trotted out. Every second year is positive that they're there at a time that's uniquely busy.

(That said, in my limited 6 years, I actually do think this is the worst that I've seen it, at least)

Great summation of the current dumb argument of the thread: Everyone always says this! But it actually is true this time.

[Anonymous User]

I've worked for 6 years at a V5 and every two years the same "it's the busiest we've ever seen it -- this is insane, we are turning down work" lines get trotted out. Every second year is positive that they're there at a time that's uniquely busy.

(That said, in my limited 6 years, I actually do think this is the worst that I've seen it, at least)

Great summation of the current dumb argument of the thread: Everyone always says this! But it actually is true this time.

As everyone has been saying, this is the worst we've ever seen it though its what you should expect because this is what always happens.