Austin
Powers
nostalgia
requires
placing
a
pinky
to
your
lips
whenever
one
dramatically
says
“one
million
dollars.”
That’s
the
gesture
that
more
than
a
few
associates
at
Boies
Schiller
are
making
right
now
upon
learning
that
their
contributions
to
the
firm
netted
them
a
seven-figure
bonus
this
year.
With
$246,000,000
gross
revenue
in
2023,
placed
Boies
Schiller
at
150
in
the
Am
Law
200,
however
the
small
but
mighty
firm
hit
that
number
with
only
around
150
lawyers.
It
also
doesn’t
rely
entirely
upon
billable
work,
with
the
firm
generating
a
significant
share
of
revenue
from
contingency
cases
that
can
produce
annual
revenue
windfalls.
And
the
firm
offers
associates
the
opportunity
to
partake
in
the
reward.
Associates
can
choose
to
take
a
match
of
this
year’s
market
bonuses
—
with
special
bonus
too
—
but
most
eschew
the
lockstep
model
in
favor
of
a
formula
that
evaluates
associates
individually.
Unlike
most
black
box
models
of
compensation
though,
the
Boies
Schiller
formula
blows
by
the
competition:
-
The
prevailing
market
bonus
scale
ranges
from
$21,000
(for
class
of
2024,
prorated)
to
$140,000
(for
class
of
2017
and
above).
These
figures
include
the
“special
bonuses”
that
many
firms
are
awarding. -
This
year,
more
than
95%
of
associates
received
a
bonus
that
was
at
least
as
high
as,
and
in
most
cases
higher
than,
what
that
associate
would
have
earned
under
the
market
system.
Those
that
did
not,
invested
material
time
in
one
or
more
contingency
cases
that
have
not
yet
paid
out. -
Numerous
associates—including
some
very
junior
associates—received
bonuses
far
in
excess
of
the
very
top
of
the
market,
including
several
who
received
bonuses
of
$300,000
or
more.
To
put
that
in
perspective:
many
second-
and
third-year
associates
at
BSF
received
bonuses
that
were
substantially
more
than
what
an
eighth-year
associate
would
have
received
on
the
market
system. -
Multiple
associates
received
bonuses
of
$1,000,000
or
more. -
Yes,
you
read
that
right.
They
earned
it,
and
the
Firm
is
happy
to
pay
it.
The
key
nugget
from
the
second
item
is
that
the
5
percent
of
associates
who
didn’t
make
the
market
standard
are
waiting
on
contingency
payouts.
It’s
the
nature
of
the
bonus
memo
season
blitz
that
we
only
get
these
insights
into
total
compensation
in
December
and
don’t
get
the
opportunity
to
follow
up
and
see
where
everyone
ends
up
when
defendants
finally
pay
up.
But
it’s
a
decent
wager
that
they’ll
not
only
end
up
at
the
market
level
but
well
above
it.
Bonuses
will
be
distributed
this
week.
Congratulations
to
all.
(Memo
reproduced
on
the
next
page…)
Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
this
stuff.
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’ll
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.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.