Ever
since
Milbank
started
the
latest
round
of
salary
wars
just
last
week,
a
multitude
of
Biglaw
firms
have
been
waiting
and
watching
to
see
if
another
firm
would
step
in
to
one-up
the
game
(ahem,
Davis
Polk)
or
bless
the
new
salary
scale
with
its
approval
(ahem,
Cravath).
While
others
have
been
twiddling
their
thumbs
and
waiting
to
take
action,
one
firm
has
decided
to
offer
even
bigger
and
better
salaries
to
reward
associates
for
their
hard
work.
The
firm
we’re
speaking
about
is
Dovel
&
Luner,
a
California
litigation
boutique
that
specializes
in
plaintiff-side
litigation
on
a
contingency
fee
basis.
The
firm
is
tiny,
but
its
salary
structure
sure
is
mighty.
Check
out
the
latest
pay
scale:
|
Class |
Annual Salary |
| 1st year | $225,000 |
| 2nd year | $235,000 |
| 3rd year | $260,000 |
| 4th year | $295,000 |
| 5th year | $335,000 |
| 6th year | $360,000 |
If
you
like
these
salaries,
you
should
see
the
firm’s
bonuses,
which
are
directly
tied
to
the
firm’s
success.
Dovel
&
Luner’s
bonuses
typically
beat
Biglaw’s
market
scale
bonuses
by
multiples
—
sometimes
rising
to
amounts
as
high
as
$700,000.
On
top
of
that,
the
firm’s
clerkship
bonus
is
an
astonishing
$140,000.
If
you’re
thinking
about
making
a
lateral
move,
this
firm
seems
like
it
could
be
a
nice
place
to
make
your
new
home.
Congratulations
to
Dovel
&
Luner
for
raising
its
first-year
salary
to
an
envious
$225,000.
What
an
achievement!
Will
more
firms
follow
in
its
footsteps?
Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
this
stuff.
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.
And
if
you’d
like
to
sign
up
for
ATL’s
Bonus
Alerts
(which
is
the
alert
list
we’ll
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.
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
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her
on
LinkedIn.
