Skadden Says: Yes to Associate Bonuses, No to Layoffs

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom kicked off Thanksgiving festivities yesterday with news of associate bonuses: They are coming. And layoffs? Nobody is losing their job.

Skadden associates will receive year-end discretionary bonuses at 2006 and 2007 class seniority levels minus the “special” supplemental bonus instituted last year, according to a memorandum sent out by executive partner Robert Sheehan and first posted on Above the Law.

The decision to nix additional bonuses was made in light of the “current economic environment,” the memo reports. “In 2008, the level of the firm’s business continue to be relatively strong, with our total workload, until very recently, being similar to 2007, our most successful year,” the memo states. “However, we have more attorneys to do this work, and therefore, our results aren’t as strong as they were last year.”

Skadden is “not planning associate downsizing,” the memo says, and anticipates the “summer class of 2009 to be almost as large as the summer class of 2008.”

The firm confirmed the memo to the ABAJournal but declined further comment.