Break
out
the
stretchy
pants
and
gratitude
journals,
because
McKool
Smith,
the
Texas-based
complex
trial
firm
that’s
been
handing
out
money
to
associates
hand
over
fist
for
years,
just
dropped
a
little
holiday
surprise
on
its
associates:
special
Thanksgiving
bonuses,
ranging
from
$2,500
to
$10,000
depending
on
seniority.
Yes,
in
addition
to
year-end
bonuses.
It’s
not
quite
Milbank’s
summer
“please
love
us,
please
stay,
please
bill”
bonus
extravaganza,
but
McKool’s
offering
is
nothing
to
sneeze
at.
Is
it
life-changing?
No.
Is
it
enough
to
buy
a
plane
ticket
home,
a
decent
bottle
of
bourbon,
and
the
emotional
buffer
required
to
survive
a
full
Thanksgiving
weekend
with
extended
family?
Absolutely.
And
this
is
the
kind
of
gesture
that
keeps
morale
high
—
or
at
least
above
the
level
where
associates
start
doom-scrolling
job
boards
during
lunch.
So
congratulations,
McKool
associates.
Enjoy
the
bonus,
enjoy
the
validation,
and
enjoy
the
brief
moment
of
hope
before
December’s
year-end
chaos
begins.
Happy
Thanksgiving
—
and
happy
bonus
season.
Read
the
full
announcement
below.
Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/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
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!
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
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 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].