Bonus
“szn”
is
officially
in
full
swing.
Just
days
after
Cravath
kicked
things
off,
setting
an
annual
bonus
mark
and
retroactively
joining
Milbank’s
summer
special
bonuses,
we’ve
got
another
firm
confirming
what
we
all
expected:
Baker
Botts
is
matching
the
Cravath
scale.
The
Houston-based
firm
—
which
clocked
a
record
2024
with
revenue
up
11.8
percent
and
profits
per
equity
partner
up
17.6
percent
—
signals
a
solid
2025
by
rewarding
associates
with
the
market-rate
bonuses.
Here’s
the
year-end
bonus
breakdown:
To
qualify
for
these
bonuses,
associates
and
special
counsel
need
to
be
in
good
standing
and
employed
on
the
payment
date,
meeting
their
hours
targets
for
the
bonus
calculation
period
running
December
1,
2024
through
November
30,
2025.
The
special
bonuses
are
for
“U.S.
associates
and
counsel
who
have
met
or
exceeded
productivity
targets
for
client
chargeable
work.”
The
“client
chargeable”
language
you
might
remember
setting
off
some
controversy
last
year
as
tipsters
reported
feeling
the
rug
pulled
out
when
the
firm
adopted
the
new
standard
cutting
out
some
previously
creditable
hours.
This
year,
presumably
every
one
knew
the
score
coming
in.
The
memo
takes
pains
to
remind
everyone
that
“money
is
far
from
the
sole
measure
of
our
commitment
to
our
people”
—
which
is
exactly
what
you
say
right
before
announcing
how
much
money
you’re
giving
people.
At
least
I
didn’t
have
to
dust
off
any
“bonuses
from
the
oven”
joke
this
year.
Progress.
Congrats
to
everyone
at
Baker
Botts!
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]
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’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.
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.