Big-bucks bonuses for Boies associates top out at $300K; average is $85K
It may not be the long-established BigLaw firms that are handing out the biggest bucks to associates in the form of year-end bonuses this year.
Boies, Schiller & Flexner, known for its high-end litigation work, has announced that it will be paying as much as $300,000 to its 133 associates in 2013, and $85,000 on average, the New York Times DealBook blog reports.
That compares to an annual bonus range of $10,000 to $60,000 announced by BigLaw market leader Cravath Swaine & Moore earlier this month.
File photo of David Boies by Kathy Anderson
Last year’s bonus range at Boies was $25,000 to $250,000, as Above the Law notes. The two articles don’t list the minimum bonus at the 241-attorney firm this year.
Name partner David Boies, who worked at Cravath before co-founding the firm in 1997, said the bonuses recognized associates’ hard work during a very busy year for litigation. The associate who received $300,000 bonus, as well as some who got $250,000 bonuses, were also recognized for business generation, Above the Law reports.
Paying above-market bonuses is good for the firm, because it helps attract top talent, Boies said.
“To be candid, a majority of firms are run for the partners and not the associates,” he told the Times. “And in the near term, there’s probably not much incentive for them to change their business models.”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Cravath to pay bonuses of $10K to $60K, the same as last year”
ABAJournal.com: “More BigLaw firms announce bonuses that follow Cravath scale”
