Some
firms
enjoy
keeping
it
cool
with
associates
by
offering
bonuses
on
top
of
bonuses
to
flex
their
financial
prowess.
In
fact,
the
latest
firm
to
announce
bonuses
announced
a
different
round
of
bonuses
just
weeks
ago.
Sources
report
that
McKool
Smith
—
the
Texas-based
complex
trial
firm
that’s
been
offering
cash
to
associates
hand
over
fist
for
years
—
announced
its
year-end
bonuses
earlier
this
week,
and
it’s
not
surprising
that
the
firm
is
matching
the
Cravath
scale,
complete
with
Milbank’s
summer
bonuses,.
As
a
cherry
on
top
of
this
bonus
sundae,
the
firm
is
offering
additional
cash
to
associates
who
have
been
billing
their
butts
off,
with
some
attorneys
walking
away
with
bonuses
exceeding
the
market
scale
by
15%,
25%,
or
35%
and
higher.
If
you
recall,
just
before
Thanksgiving,
McKool
issued
special
appreciation
bonuses
to
all
attorneys
at
the
firm,
ranging
from
$2,500
to
$10,000,
based
on
their
tenure
at
the
firm.
No
matter
how
you
cut
it,
lawyers
at
McKool
are
making
more
money
than
their
colleagues
are
at
other
firms.
Here’s
what
the
base
bonus
scale
looks
like
at
McKool:
Bonuses
will
hit
bank
accounts
prior
to
December
19,
2025.
Congratulations
to
everyone
at
McKool
Smith!
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!
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.
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