Weil Gotshal Shows Associates the Money: Seniority Raises + Bonuses of Up to $50K
Known for its lucrative corporate bankruptcy practice, Weil Gotshal & Manges is showing associates the money after a year of unprecedented layoffs, pay freezes and even pay cuts at a number of well-known law firms.
Associates with “overall strong” ratings by the firm will receive bonuses of between $7,500 and $35,000 at the end of January. And top-performing associates in the classes of 2001 to 2005 can get between $30,000 to $50,000 if they are ranked as “distinguished,” reports Above the Law, relying on a copy of what it says was the memo distributed to Weil associates by Stephen Dannhauser, the firm’s chairman.
Meanwhile, the firm is also bumping up seniority-based associate pay in February, retroactive to January 1. Base compensation in 2010 will range from $170,000 for the class of 2008 to $290,000 for the class of 2001, according to the memo.
A request for comment from the firm by the ABA Journal this afternoon did not receive an immediate response.
In general, bonuses have been dropping for BigLaw junior associates, while more senior associates have been getting a bigger share of the pot, as discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Cravath Makes No New Partners; Economy Not to Blame, Lawyer Says”
ABAJournal.com: “BigLaw Partner Promotions Plummet, Even at Highly Profitable Wachtell”
Above the Law: “Associate Bonus Watch: Boies Will Be Boies (Generous bonuses, above-market base salaries)”
Above the Law: “Associate Bonus Watch: Wachtell Lipton Bonuses Go Down Again”
Bloomberg: “Weil Gotshal’s Miller Says Real Estate Bankruptcies May Grow”
Law Review (Business Insider): “Weil’s Michael Aiello Does More Than $4 Billion Worth Of Deals In 7 Days”
