Biglaw
bonus
announcement
should
be
unambiguously
good
news.
Extra
cash
for
a
job
well
done.
What’s
not
to
like?
Well,
the
powers
that
be
at
Wilson
Sonsini
Goodrich
&
Rosati
announced
bonuses
today
but
the
murmuring
we
are
hearing
here
at
Above
the
Law
is
less-than
great.
First,
here’s
the
bonus
schedule
announced
at
WSGR:
While
the
table
looks
pretty
standard,
it’s
the
fine
print
that’s
pissing
off
associates.
Multiple
tipsters
have
reported
that
the
firm
shifted
the
hours
requirement
to
get
special
bonuses,
and
pushed
back
the
standard
disbursal
period
for
those
specials
by
two
months.
FYI,
WSGR
announced
bonuses
this
afternoon.
Increased
hours
requirement
for
the
special
bonus
(2000
vs
1950)
without
any
warning.
Feels
very
much
like
they
moved
the
goalposts
at
the
last
minute
for
people
who
were
otherwise
locked
in
for
the
bonus,
which
has
been
the
same
hours
requirement
forever.
Also,
they
are
paying
bonuses
2
months
later
than
usual
(March
31
vs
February
1).
People
are
quite
annoyed.
Peer
firms
don’t
have
the
same
requirements.
Another
insider
noted
similar
problems
with
this
year’s
bonus
announcement:
WSGR
matched
but
the
special
bonus
is
at
2,000
hours
but
was
not
announced
until
after
year
end.
Many
associates
were
within
20-30
hours
of
the
extended
cap
and
are
less
than
over
the
moon
Insiders
seem
pretty
pissed
about
the
fiasco.
Hi
all,
I’m
a
Wilson
Sonsini
associate
and
they
just
announced
bonuses.
Ignoring
the
Hogan
Lovells
fiasco,
they
decided
to
make
the
special
bonus
threshold
2,000
hours
instead
of
the
usual
1,950.
Associates
are
beyond
pissed
and
really
outraged
that
they
would
move
the
goalposts
after
the
fiscal
year
has
ENDED
More
reactions:
WSGR
matched
with
the
special
bonus
only
provided
to
those
hitting
2,000
rather
than
the
firm’s
long-standing
1,950.
This
was
not
pre-announced,
so
there
are
obviously
apoplectic
associates
just
a
few
hours
off.
You
can
read
the
full
memo
on
the
next
page.
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!
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].
