Assoc. Math Problem: Same Bonus, But Different Amount

A "credit crisis" over associate bonuses reportedly is brewing at a recently merged megafirm, because the two have differing formulas about how they should be calculated.

Associates who joined the newly formed Dewey & LeBoeuf from Dewey Ballantine get billable hours credit for client development, reports New York Lawyer (reg. req.), in a reprint of a Legal Times article. Associates from LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae do not. However, like their Dewey-side counterparts, they must still bill 2,000 hours annually to be eligible for a bonus.

This discrepancy in associate bonus formulas is expected to continue through the current fiscal year, but presumably the two firms' differing approaches will be conformed thereafter.