Average Biglaw SA Salary Forum

[20141023]

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[2014]

Yes, I believe so (e.g., Dovel & Luner). I wasn't intending to be exhaustive in my original post.

Wait, what the fuck? Is that for real? A bonus that is 3x what the average biglaw 1st year associate is making in 2012?!?

Edit: Never mind... 8 people work there; I didn't realize this was a boutique among boutiques.

One of them is an alum though!

[kalvano]

My firm does bonuses that way. It's a small firm, so the partners take their cut and then it gets divvied up amongst associates and the paralegal. The senior associate takes home about a 50% of salary bonus.

[enibs]

My firm does bonuses that way. It's a small firm, so the partners take their cut and then it gets divvied up amongst associates and the paralegal. The senior associate takes home about a 50% of salary bonus.

This isn't really the way it works. The partners decide how much they're going to pay the associates and the paralegal, then the partners divvy up what's left. If the partners allocate more to the associates and the paralegal, the partners' share is less. If they allocate less to the associates and the paralegal, the partners' share is more. Sounds like the partners at your firm are pretty generous in allocating a 50% of salary bonus. (Of course, you haven't said how much salary is, so hard to tell whether they're being generous or just shoving more of the total comp package into variable comp.)

[kalvano]

My firm does bonuses that way. It's a small firm, so the partners take their cut and then it gets divvied up amongst associates and the paralegal. The senior associate takes home about a 50% of salary bonus.

This isn't really the way it works. The partners decide how much they're going to pay the associates and the paralegal, then the partners divvy up what's left. If the partners allocate more to the associates and the paralegal, the partners' share is less. If they allocate less to the associates and the paralegal, the partners' share is more. Sounds like the partners at your firm are pretty generous in allocating a 50% of salary bonus. (Of course, you haven't said how much salary is, so hard to tell whether they're being generous or just shoving more of the total comp package into variable comp.)

Could be right; bonuses are based on hours collected on, but I kind of doubt the partners aren't getting their money first (one of them wrote a check for an M3 last year and is considering a new Range Rover this year). I don't know the percentages, but no one is unhappy with their checks. I won't make 50% this year because a good chunk of my hours will get written down (yay, first year attorney status), but the senior associate has been doing it a while.