Bonus
season
has
officially
begun.
Cravath,
the
firm
that’s
the
standard
bearer
for
Biglaw
associate
compensation,
has
kicked
off
the
2025
bonus
sweepstakes.
And
Cravath’s
not
here
for
restraint.
The
firm
announced
year-end
bonuses
and
a
round
of
special
bonuses
that
mirror
the
Milbank
summer
bonuses.
As
reflected
in
the
chart
below,
the
year-end
bonus
amounts
echo
last
year’s
bonus
scale.
Maybe
they’re
not
reinventing
the
bonus
wheel,
but
there’s
a
pretty
big
paycheck
headed
associates’
way.
New
York
and
D.C.
associates
will
get
their
bonuses
on
December
12th
(with
no
hours
requirement,
as
per
usual
for
the
firm),
while
London
associates
will
have
to
wait
an
extra
week
for
the
money
to
hit
their
accounts.
And
because
it’s
Cravath,
every
other
Biglaw
partner
just
felt
the
sudden
urge
to
“circle
back”
with
their
executive
committees.
Now
we
wait
for
the
inevitable
parade
of
matching
announcements.
Davis
Polk
will
follow
soon.
Paul
Weiss
will
toss
in
something
shiny.
Latham
will
eventually
make
its
move,
confident
as
always.
And
every
associate
in
Biglaw
will
spend
the
next
72
hours
refreshing
their
inbox
like
it’s
a
Taylor
Swift
ticket
queue.
But
for
now,
Cravath
has
officially
fired
the
starting
gun.
Bonus
season
is
here.
May
your
hours
be
high
and
your
disappointment
minimal.
So,
is
your
firm
matching
*both*
the
year-end
and
special
bonuses?
Let
Above
the
Law
know!
We
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
important
bonus
updates,
so
when
your
firm
matches
(or
if
they
fail
to
do
so),
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
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
all
of
your
help!
Read
the
full
memo
below.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].