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On November 11, Baker McKenzie shocked the Biglaw world by making the very first bonus announcement of the year. Two weeks later, Cravath adopted the same bonus scale and added special bonuses on top, and the rest of Biglaw rushed to match the new market standard.
Associates at the firm were disappointed that there were no special bonuses to be had, but when making its original bonus announcement, the firm said it would match any increases in the market. On New Year’s Eve, Baker McKenzie management finally came through on that promise, announcing that it would be matching the special bonuses that had been circulating for months. These bonuses will be made available to associates who have at least 1,900 qualifying billable hours (including 125 approved pro bono and diversity and inclusion hours). Check out the special bonus scale, below:
On top of that great news, the firm will also be making full salary restoration payments to all employees who were affected by the COVID-related spending cuts the firm instituted on May 1. All special bonus and salary true-up payments will be made on January 29. Happy new year, Baker McKenzie associates!
(Flip to the next page to read the full Baker McKenzie memo.)
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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.