Bankruptcy Boom Raises Legal Stars’ Pay; $5M a Year for Luc Despins
Bankruptcy lawyers are once again seeing their heyday as law firms seek to lure them on board with big-bucks salaries.
The paycheck for Luc Despins, who jumped to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker last fall, is $5 million a year, report the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and the Wall Street Journal Law Blog. An unnamed partner at the law firm told the newspaper that the pay level is guaranteed for three years.
Raniero D’Aversa Jr. is getting half of Despins’ pay—about $2.5 million annually—after moving to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe last year. Sources said the amount represents a pay hike of about 25 percent.
Many bankruptcy lawyers are getting calls from recruiters and asking for pay hikes of 20 percent to 30 percent, according to Hugh Ray, head of the restructuring group at Andrews Kurth.
Ray told the Law Blog that he is getting lots of calls from recruiters himself, even though he is “an old man” at 66 years old. “It makes your inner child feel loved,” he said.
