This Biglaw Firm May Have Matched Bonuses, But Associates Won’t See The Money For Months

To make a good bonus announcement the money has to be there, that’s a given. But there are other factors that go into delighting associates — something Paul Hastings knows all too well.

First, the good news. They’re giving associates a match of the market bonus scale set by Milbank early last month. For those that need the reminder, the prevailing bonuses are as follows, by seniority:

Class of 2018 – $15,000
Class of 2017 – $25,000
Class of 2016 – $50,000
Class of 2015 – $65,000
Class of 2014 – $80,000
Class of 2013 – $90,000
Class of 2012+ – $100,000

The bad news is that associates won’t actually get that sweet, sweet cash until March. Even though the delayed payday is standard at the firm, it doesn’t mean folks aren’t pissed. From a tipster:

Even though they matched market bonuses, I’m very disappointed with the payment dates, and I’m sure other associates are as well. All of the other top firms pay bonuses in December (or January at the latest!).

Read the full memo on the next page.

Remember — we can’t do this without you, dear readers! We depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for all salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for your help!


headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

This Biglaw Firm May Have Matched Bonuses, But Associates Won’t See The Money For Months

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