Cadwalader
hasn’t
enjoyed
the
smoothest
2025.
Key
partners
defected,
the
firm
announced
a
snap
leadership
shakeup,
and
finally
admitted
they’re
looking
for
a
merger
proposal
with
Alston
&
Bird.
And
that
“Trump
administration
capitulation”
story
didn’t
help.
But,
as
the
year
winds
down,
firm
lawyers
can
look
past
2025
and
comfort
themselves
with
a
tidy
bonus
match.
At
6:02,
the
co-managing
partners
sent
out
the
memo
laying
out
the
following
baseline
bonuses:
Class
Year
Year-End
BonusClass
of
2025$15,000
(pro-rated)Class
of
2024$20,000 Class
of
2023$30,000 Class
of
2022$57,500 Class
of
2021$75,000 Class
of
2020$90,000 Class
of
2019$105,000 Class
of
2018
and
2017$115,000 But
that’s
not
all,
with
special
bonuses
available
for
those
recording
2200
hours
or
more
throughout
the
year:
Year
Special
BonusClass
of
2025$6,000
(pro-rated)Class
of
2024$6,000 Class
of
2023$10,000 Class
of
2022$15,000 Class
of
2021$20,000 Class
of
2020$25,000 Class
of
2019$25,000 Class
of
2018
and
2017$25,000
The
bonuses
will
be
paid
out
by
the
last
February
pay
period.
Not
bad
for
a
firm
potentially
going
to
the
(Alston
&)
Birds.
(Full
memo
on
the
next
page.)
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
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on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
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and
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Joe
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Managing
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