Announcing 2022 Special Bonuses Forum

[tls843539]

When do you think they’ll be announced, if at all?

[Anonymous User]

Bump

[Ultramar vistas]

Depends whether the Fed hikes rates and M&A slows down.

Plenty of AmLaw articles recently about how salary costs are cutting into law firm growth, which you can take to mean that’s the narrative that partners are feeding their journalist contacts. Pretty clear that the message we’re being asked to swallow is that salaries/bonuses are maxed out.

But if attrition and market continues going gang busters, they’ll have to do another round.

[Anonymous User]

The 2021 special bonuses rolled out in mid-to-late March.

If we are going to get 2022 special bonus(es), I’d bet on March again.

[Anonymous User]

The 2021 special bonuses rolled out in mid-to-late March.

If we are going to get 2022 special bonus(es), I’d bet on March again.

Let’s not say “if” because we deserve it.

[Anonymous User]

Depends whether the Fed hikes rates and M&A slows down.

Plenty of AmLaw articles recently about how salary costs are cutting into law firm growth, which you can take to mean that’s the narrative that partners are feeding their journalist contacts. Pretty clear that the message we’re being asked to swallow is that salaries/bonuses are maxed out.

But if attrition and market continues going gang busters, they’ll have to do another round.

Expectations of rate increases may prompt PE sponsors that rely on debt financing to move sooner to make deals, rather than later. The overall impact of gradual rate increases may therefore not be significant. When interest rates rose between 2016 and 2019, both deal volume and value rose.

[Anonymous User]

Can we not with the clickbaity titles

[Anonymous User]

Whenever Milbank feels like it.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting to me that the second most selected option is "Never" (after March). General pessimism among lawyers? I don't think firms could so easily depart from this new compensation. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of penny-pinching partners in the V50 would who love a reason to not pay out spring / fall bonuses, but I don't think they'll get the justification they're looking for until the next economic downturn, which we're not close to--even if deal flow decelerates a bit because of rate increases it isn't going to be enough to drop this.

[Anonymous User]

Whenever Milbank feels like it.

Doubt it. Milbank sets the trend re salary bump, but not bonus announcement.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting to me that the second most selected option is "Never" (after March). General pessimism among lawyers? I don't think firms could so easily depart from this new compensation. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of penny-pinching partners in the V50 would who love a reason to not pay out spring / fall bonuses, but I don't think they'll get the justification they're looking for until the next economic downturn, which we're not close to--even if deal flow decelerates a bit because of rate increases it isn't going to be enough to drop this.

Or maybe there are more partners in this forum than we thought.

[Anonymous User]

Interesting to me that the second most selected option is "Never" (after March). General pessimism among lawyers? I don't think firms could so easily depart from this new compensation. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of penny-pinching partners in the V50 would who love a reason to not pay out spring / fall bonuses, but I don't think they'll get the justification they're looking for until the next economic downturn, which we're not close to--even if deal flow decelerates a bit because of rate increases it isn't going to be enough to drop this.

Or maybe there are more partners in this forum than we thought.

Considering that the heyday of this place was circa 2010, that's not unlikely!

[Anonymous User]

Interesting to me that the second most selected option is "Never" (after March). General pessimism among lawyers? I don't think firms could so easily depart from this new compensation. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are plenty of penny-pinching partners in the V50 would who love a reason to not pay out spring / fall bonuses, but I don't think they'll get the justification they're looking for until the next economic downturn, which we're not close to--even if deal flow decelerates a bit because of rate increases it isn't going to be enough to drop this.

Or maybe there are more partners in this forum than we thought.

This seems very possible and if so lmao about them flooding the poll in favor of "Never." It's interesting to me that no one has stepped forward to offer a justification for voting "Never," presumably because it'd be a thin one.

[Anonymous User]

Okay I'll step up to explain my "never" vote. I'm an associate at a cheap-as-f DC firm that will walk on fire to try to avoid paying market; meanwhile I have no insight into what work/retention is like at the V10s that actually set the market.

Hope is the mind killer, or something like that.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight to how much turnover there was after bonuses were paid out this year? I know some firms don't pay until end of January, but I assume most are end of December so wondering if anecdata suggests that there's still a massive retention issue like there seemed to be last year around this time.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight to how much turnover there was after bonuses were paid out this year? I know some firms don't pay until end of January, but I assume most are end of December so wondering if anecdata suggests that there's still a massive retention issue like there seemed to be last year around this time.

On one of my deals, all of the associates across from me left after bonuses were paid at their firm

Also, I put “never” out of a sense of pessimism and not wanting to get my hopes up. I think firms will do their best to avoid paying out additional bonuses this year with the excuse that work is ready to slow down.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight to how much turnover there was after bonuses were paid out this year? I know some firms don't pay until end of January, but I assume most are end of December so wondering if anecdata suggests that there's still a massive retention issue like there seemed to be last year around this time.

Haven't seen the mass exodus I was expecting. V20 NYC.

[Anonymous User]

Any insight to how much turnover there was after bonuses were paid out this year? I know some firms don't pay until end of January, but I assume most are end of December so wondering if anecdata suggests that there's still a massive retention issue like there seemed to be last year around this time.

An inordinate amount of farewell emails for my firm came in mid-late 2021, but I'm at a late-paying firm, so wouldn't be surprised to see some more trickle in as we push deeper into 2022.

[Anonymous User]

For what it's worth Polsinelli announced there will be special bonuses announced in February-ish for associates on track to meet their hours as of January 31st.

[TigerIsBack]

For what it's worth Polsinelli announced there will be special bonuses announced in February-ish for associates on track to meet their hours as of January 31st.

Let's keep talking about this

[Anonymous User]

How about DPW matches the Milbank salary raises this week and simultaneously announces 2022 special bonuses? That seems like a plausible outcome.

[Anonymous User]

How about DPW matches the Milbank salary raises this week and simultaneously announces 2022 special bonuses? That seems like a plausible outcome.

I would agree that seems like the most likely way that special bonuses come about. Hopefully DPW announces this week and doesn't take as long as they did on the EOY bonuses.

[Yardbird]

How about DPW matches the Milbank salary raises this week and simultaneously announces 2022 special bonuses? That seems like a plausible outcome.

I would agree that seems like the most likely way that special bonuses come about. Hopefully DPW announces this week and doesn't take as long as they did on the EOY bonuses.

It’s been a month since December special bonuses. They aren’t going to announce new special bonuses one month after the last one...

[Anonymous User]

Anyone else having mixed feelings about the Milbank salary increase? Part of me feels like the salary increase made it less likely we'll get special bonuses. I'm a senior associate so if it's an either / or situation that means I'm down $44k (20k base increase vs. 64k in special bonuses). Or maybe I'm thinking about this wrong and it's only all good news, i.e., the base going up won't have any affect on the probability of special bonuses being announced.

(I've noticed since the Milbank announcement the poll has become almost even between "March" and "Never" whereas before March was consistently ahead by some margin.)

[Anonymous User]

Anyone else having mixed feelings about the Milbank salary increase? Part of me feels like the salary increase made it less likely we'll get special bonuses. I'm a senior associate so if it's an either / or situation that means I'm down $44k (20k base increase vs. 64k in special bonuses). Or maybe I'm thinking about this wrong and it's only all good news, i.e., the base going up won't have any affect on the probability of special bonuses being announced.

(I've noticed since the Milbank announcement the poll has become almost even between "March" and "Never" whereas before March was consistently ahead by some margin.)

Sadly, I’m pessimistic about the special bonuses as well. I believe they will either go away in 2022 or will be greatly reduced as a way of “weaning” associates off them.

A jittery market (modest stock market corrections, interest rate hikes, inflation concerns) gives partnerships a pretext to cut back on special bonuses — whether or not BL firms actually feel the sting of a weaker economy. I personally think firms will generate more profits than ever in 2022, but will try to exploit ambient uncertainty, FUD, headlines, etc. as a way of justifying this to associates.