No Grinch at Skadden: Bonuses are $35K to $65K, Blog Says

As other law firms lay off attorneys, cut year-end bonuses and even announce a salary freeze, one BigLaw firm reportedly has announced bonuses that should make this a happy holiday season for its own associates.

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom will give its associates year-end bonuses of between $35,000 and $65,000—roughly double what many of its major-firm competitors are paying this year, according to Above the Law. And the bonus announcement, which came in the form of individualized memos, also reflects "customary annual pay raises," the blog says.

Like other major New York-based law firms, Skadden won't be paying the special bonus that supplemented year-end BigLaw associate bonuses in better economic times.

And "we did hear—not firsthand, because none of our sources fell into this unfortunate group—that a handful of associates who received poor performance reviews did not receive these amounts (and did not advance with their class years in base salary)," the ATL post notes.

However, associates at Skadden aren't the only ones with cause to celebrate this year: The Boies Schiller & Flexner litigation boutique is paying bonuses of as much as $100,000.

Earlier ABAJournal.com coverage:

Associate Bonuses at Big Law Firms May Drop Up to 75 Percent

A&O Halves Year-End Bonuses for US Lawyers; Only $17.5K to $32.5K

Davis Polk Halves Associate Year-End Bonuses, Nixes Special Bonuses

Latham’s ‘Prudent Business Strategy’: Pay Freeze for Associates