Law Practice Management
Good News: Big Bonuses; Bad News: Salary Freeze, McDermott Announces
Posted Mar 17, 2009, 04:04 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Associates at McDermott Will & Emery got both good news and bad news in recent internal announcements.
First the good news: Associates remaining at the firm after recent layoffs will be getting big bonuses for their work in 2008. The firm describes them as "in many cases exceed[ing] the market," in an internal memo reported by Above the Law.
And unnamed sources report that the actual bonus amount was indeed surprisingly good news: It averaged $22,266 for first-year associates, with a high of $60,000 or so reported by some fourth-years, the law blog says.
The bad news, however, is that the firm is freezing associate pay at 2008 levels, McDermott announces in another e-mail provided by the law blog, explaining that this will give the firm greater "flexibility."
The merit-based compensation system at McDermott may reflect the future norm at a growing number of BigLaw firms, as the dismal economy pushes them to eliminate a traditional lockstep compensation system that paid associates in the same law school graduation year at the same level.
Related ABAJournal.com coverage:
Some Law Firms End Lockstep Pay for Associates, as Economy Plummets
McDermott Lays Off 60 Lawyers and 89 Staff Members
Comments not appearing after a few seconds? Try emptying your cache ("Temporary Internet files"), making sure Javascript is activated, and refresh this page.