Kilpatrick Stockton Cuts Associate Salaries by 10 Percent

Kilpatrick Stockton is cutting associate salaries by 10 percent in the United States beginning July 1.

The cut puts pay for new associates at $130,000 in the firm’s offices in Atlanta and North Carolina, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. The new salary for beginning associates in New York and Washington, D.C., and in the area of patent law is $145,000.

Diane Prucino, the firm's co-managing partner, told the Fulton County Daily Report that existing associate pay tops out in the low 200s. The firm has 200 associates. The publication calculated the potential savings at about $1.75 million this year.

However, Prucino said, associates who bill enough hours can make the lost money back in bonuses.

The legal newspaper identifies several law firms with Atlanta offices that have cut associate pay. Other firms cutting pay by 10 percent are DLA Piper, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Greenberg Traurig, and McGuireWoods. McKenna Long & Aldridge cut starting pay by $20,000, while Thompson Hine cut all nonpartners’ pay by $17,500. Seyfarth Shaw cut associate pay in amounts ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent.

Above the Law also covered the Kilpatrick Stockton pay cut.