After
months
of
speculation
amid
an
uncertain
economy,
it
looks
like
it’s
going
to
be
a
hot
bonus
summer
after
all!
First
came
boutique
firm
Vartabedian
Hester
&
Haynes,
followed
by
midsize
firm
Otterbourg,
and
last
but
certainly
not
least,
Milbank.
We
wondered
if
any
other
firms
would
step
up
to
match
(or
beat)
the
Biglaw
firm,
and
the
answer
is
a
resounding
yes.
Prominent
California
boutique
firm
Hueston
Hennigan
has
announced
that
it
will
be
awarding
associates
with
summer
bonuses
ranging
from
$10,000
to
$30,000,
regardless
of
class
year.
This
means
that
associates
at
the
firm
are
eligible
to
receive
bonuses
that
top
any
of
the
other
summer
bonus
scales
that
have
been
announced.
Staff
at
the
firm
will
also
be
receiving
bonuses.
Attorneys
at
the
firm
must
be
on
track
to
bill
at
least
2,000
hours
to
be
eligible
to
receive
a
bonus,
and
like
at
most
firms,
more
hours
equals
more
money.
For
example,
those
on
track
for
2,400
hours
will
receive
a
$20,000
bonus,
while
those
on
track
to
hit
2,700
hours
will
receive
a
$30,000
bonus.
Hueston
Hennigan
is
the
first
major
firm
we
know
of
to
have
announced
summer
bonuses
in
Milbank’s
wake.
What
does
this
mean
for
the
rest
of
the
Biglaw,
midsize,
and
boutique
firms
that
are
always
so
eager
to
match
the
compensation
offered
by
market
leaders?
Should
we
be
expecting
another
round
of
bonus
announcements
sometime
soon?
All
we
know
is
that
it’s
time
for
associates
to
cross
their
fingers
and
hope
for
a
special
summer
surprise
in
the
form
of
cold,
hard
cash.
Congratulations
to
everyone
at
Hueston
Hennigan!
Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
this
stuff.
So
when
your
firm
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Summer
Bonuses”).
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’ll
also
use
for
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.
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.