Most
law
firms
have
systems
in
place
when
it
comes
to
salary
and
bonus
determinations. In
many
instances,
law
firms
evaluate
an
attorney’s
work
on
a
yearly
basis,
and
at
that
time
decide
what
salary
increase
the
attorney
will
receive,
if
any,
and
whether
the
attorney
will
receive
a
bonus
at
firms
that
do
not
have
lockstep
bonus
policies. However,
some
smaller
law
firms
do
not
have
systems
in
place
to
deal
with
salary
and
bonus
determinations,
and
some
smaller
shops
have
flexibility
when
it
comes
to
salary
determinations. At
these
shops,
it
might
make
sense
to
proactively
seek
a
pay
raise.
I
once
worked
at
a
small
law
firm
that
made
salary
decisions
no
more
frequently
than
annually. One
of
the
associates
at
the
firm
thought
that
he
was
underpaid,
and
the
market
rate
was
likely
much
higher
than
that
associate
was
earning
at
the
firm.
This
associate
spoke
to
the
managing
partner
at
he
firm
about
receiving
a
pay
raise
immediately
even
though
the
partners
used
to
make
salary
determinations
around
the
holidays. The
managing
partner
told
this
associate
to
write
a
memo
about
all
of
the
work
that
this
associate
did
in
the
previous
year,
and
how
valuable
he
was
to
the
firm. The
managing
partner
said
he
would
share
the
memo
with
the
other
partners,
and
they
would
use
this
information
when
deciding
if
that
associate
should
receive
a
pay
raise.
The
associate
showed
me
the
memo
he
drafted,
and
it
was
masterfully
written. The
memo
discussed
all
of
the
work
this
associate
had
completed
for
the
firm
in
the
proceeding
year
and
how
these
tasks
went
above
and
beyond
other
associates
at
the
firm.
The
associate
also
discussed
how
productive
he
was
and
how
much
money
he
generated
for
the
firm,
which
he
argued
warranted
a
salary
increase. My
colleague
also
argued
that
it
would
be
less
disruptive
to
keep
that
associate
at
the
shop
with
a
higher
salary
than
try
to
find
another
attorney
to
replace
the
associate
that
asked
for
the
salary
increase.
The
managing
partner
eventually
told
this
associate
that
his
hands
were
tied
until
the
annual
review
process
was
conducted. The
managing
partner
did
not
want
to
give
any
kind
of
preferential
treatment
to
the
associate
that
asked
for
a
pay
raise
since
this
could
hurt
morale
and
lead
others
to
believe
that
the
firm
was
being
unfair
in
treating
this
associate
better
than
other
attorneys. The
associate
was
not
pleased
with
this
outcome,
but
this
firm
policy
made
sense. Managing
partners
need
to
think
about
the
good
of
a
law
firm
and
its
employees
at
large
and
not
necessarily
about
the
needs
of
one
individual
attorney.
However,
at
the
annual
review
process,
this
attorney
ended
up
receiving
a
better
compensation
package
than
he
might
have
received
if
he
did
not
ask
for
a
pay
raise
earlier
in
the
year. Evidently,
the
memo
this
associate
drafted
arguing
for
a
pay
raise
had
a
substantial
impact
on
management
at
the
firm,
and
they
decided
to
increase
this
associate’s
salary
so
the
attorney
had
an
incentive
to
stay
at
the
shop.
Some
of
the
other
associates
at
the
firm
wished
that
they
had
also
spoken
up
sooner
about
requesting
a
salary
increase
so
that
they
too
could
have
received
an
increase
in
their
compensation.
Of
course,
asking
for
a
pay
raise,
or
asking
for
more
compensation
of
any
kind
can
be
awkward,
and
may
be
impossible
at
some
shops
at
which
people
are
paid
a
set
amount
depending
on
experience. However,
attorneys
should
not
be
afraid
to
ask
their
employers
for
more
money. Even
if
attorneys
are
not
immediately
paid
more
compensation,
this
could
set
the
stage
for
a
higher
salary
in
the
future.
Jordan
Rothman
is
a
partner
of The
Rothman
Law
Firm,
a
full-service
New
York
and
New
Jersey
law
firm.
He
is
also
the
founder
of Student
Debt
Diaries,
a
website
discussing
how
he
paid
off
his
student
loans.
You
can
reach
Jordan
through
email
at jordan@rothman.law.