It may be the middle of February 2021, but Biglaw’s 2020 bonus season is still rolling. Which top 25 Biglaw firm knew how to make its associates’ Valentine’s Day extra special this year?
That would be Paul Hastings, a firm that brought in $1,268,910,000 gross revenue in 2019, landing it in the 24th spot on the most recent Am Law 100 ranking. If you recall, back in December 2020, the firm announced its year-end bonuses, and of course included special bonuses. Here’s the scale:
At the time, those special bonuses were only available for “qualifying associates”, i.e., those who had billed enough. Associates were understandably very upset.
This past Friday, the firm announced an update about its regular bonuses and special bonuses that was sure to please all associates.
As an expression of the Firm’s gratitude for the contribution of our associates to the success of our clients throughout the year, we are pleased to announce that associates who qualify for a Year-End Bonus but did not receive the Special Bonus in December will be awarded the Special Bonus in March in addition to their Year-End Bonus.
Supplemental bonuses may also be awarded to associates who have made exceptional contributions in the past year. An award that exceeds the baseline bonus is a significant achievement.
That’s right: Everyone who qualified for a regular bonus will now receive a special bonus, too. On top of that, supplemental bonuses are now on the table. Paul Hastings sure knows how to make its associates feel loved. Congratulations to all!
(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Paul Hastings.)
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for all of your help!
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.