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It’s been a week since Davis Polk blew Willkie Farr’s special bonus scale out of the water, and all the while, we’ve been wondering when Cravath — the perennial bonus leader — would step in to offer a tip of its hat to the credence of these bonuses. That time is finally here.
Cravath hath spoken, and the word is good, and the bonuses are BIG.
Unlike in the fall, when Cravath waited until year-end bonus time to match the Davis Polk special bonus scale, the firm is doing it right now, along with the rest of Biglaw firms that have already done so. Here’s the bonus scale Cravath is offering, payable on April 30 and September 30:
As noted in the firm’s memo, there are no billable hours attached to these special bonuses, and “virtually all [Cravath] associates will receive the full bonuses.” That’s fantastic news. Even more fantastic is that the firm says it expects regular year-end bonuses will be “no less than” its regular year-end bonus levels — and that means associates can expect to receive up to $100,000, depending on class year.
Did Cravath raise the market here? No, of course not. But what it did do was let all other Biglaw firms know that it’s time to pay up. We expect to receive a flood of bonus memos from other Biglaw firms now that Cravath has entered the ring.
Congratulations to all!
(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Cravath.)
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, 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.
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at 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. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
