Law Firms
Sonnenschein Offers Bonuses of Up to $70K, but Freezes Pay
Posted Jan 7, 2009, 09:25 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Associates at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal recently got good news and bad news in a memo on compensation.
The memo, published yesterday on Above the Law, announces bonuses ranging from $10,000 to $70,000. The bonus schedule means some associates will make “significantly higher bonuses than their peers at many of the firms with whom we compete for talent and clients,” the memo says.
Then comes the bad news. Sonnenschein will freeze associate salaries in 2009. The memo says the decision was based on “marketplace and client factors.”
Sonnenschein laid off some 60 lawyers in soft practice areas earlier this year, then added about 100 lawyers from Thacher Proffitt & Wood in December. “Put another way, Sonnenschein is just another entity trying to navigate through the new economy as best it can until things settle down,” Above the Law says.
Other law firms that have announced pay freezes for associates include Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; DLA Piper; Dorsey & Whitney; and Latham & Watkins.
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