‘Tis
the
season
for
Biglaw
bonus
announcements,
and
Proskauer
Rose
has
entered
the
chat.
The
firm
announced
its
2025
year-end
bonuses
today,
matching
the
scale
that’s
rapidly
taking
on
consensus
status.
But
before
we
get
to
the
numbers,
let’s
take
a
trip
down
memory
lane.
Because
Proskauer’s
2024
bonus
season
was…
memorable.
And
not
in
a
“great
holiday
party”
kind
of
way.
Last
year,
Proskauer
associates
discovered
that
the
firm
sprung
an
hours
requirement
for
bonuses
that,
according
to
tipsters,
didn’t
formally
exist
until
after
people
missed
it.
Associates
who
fell
short
by
as
few
as
three
hours
found
nothing
but
coal
in
their
stockings.
The
firm
then
—
in
what
we
can
only
describe
as
damage
control
under
duress
—
called
a
virtual
town
hall
nine
minutes
after
our
story
posted
to
announce
that,
going
forward,
there
would
be
an
official
2,000-hour
requirement.
As
one
associate
put
it
at
the
time:
“They
say
it
can
change
from
year
to
year
but
they
will
tell
us
ahead
of
time
(yeah
right,
we’re
not
going
to
believe
that
shit
anymore).”
With
that
context,
let’s
examine
this
year’s
memo…
and
note
that
there’s
no
announced
hourly
changes:
Nothing
surprising
there.
Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
or
before
December
24,
2025
to
associates
who
are
employed
and
in
good
standing
on
that
date
and
who
have
met
the
Firm’s
applicable
performance
criteria
for
associates
of
their
seniority.
The
memo
also
includes
the
usual
caveats
about
pro-rated
bonuses
for
associates
on
reduced
schedules,
approved
leaves,
or
who
joined
after
January
1,
2025.
London
associates
get
pounds
to
sterling
conversions,
because
apparently
Brexit
didn’t
change
everything.
Congratulations
to
the
Proskauer
associates
who
will
be
receiving
their
checks
before
Christmas.
May
your
hours
be
above
threshold
and
your
good
standing
remain
unquestioned.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.