If
you
needed
a
reminder
that
bonuses
aren’t
entitlements,
look
no
further.
Arnold
&
Porter
Kaye
Scholer
announced
their
bonus
scheme
and
not
everyone
is
happy
about
it.
On
paper,
the
firm
is
matching
the
market’s
year
end
bonuses,
which
is
good!
But
sometimes,
good
actually
is
the
enemy
of
the
great.
Looks
like
A&P
is
being
stingy
by
adding
in
short-notice
hour
requirements
for
the
special
bonuses.
As
a
quick
example,
let’s
look
at
the
scale
being
used
by
a
firm
a
little
lower
on
the
AM
100
—
Baker
Botts:
|
Deem Date |
Year-End Bonus |
Special Bonus |
| 2023 | $20,000 | $6,000 |
| 2022 | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | $57,500 | $15,000 |
| 2020 | $75,000 | $20,000 |
| 2019 | $90,000 | $25,000 |
| 2018 | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| 2017+ | $115,000 | $25,000 |
Meet
your
hours,
be
in
your
class,
collect
your
money,
and
pass
go.
Simple,
right?
A&P
is
doing
things
a
little
bit
different.
You’ll
need
at
least
2000
hours
to
hit
your
base
bonuses
(at
least
1800
of
those
must
be
client
billable)
and
2200
hours
(at
least
2000
hours
must
be
client
billable)
to
hit
the
special
bonus
rung.
It’s
one
thing
to
know
ahead
of
time
that
2200
hours
would
be
the
threshold
for
the
special
bonus,
but
the
associates
were
only
told
this
with
11
days
left
in
the
calendar
year!
As
one
tipster
put
it:
Under
the
policy,
an
associate
“merely”
in
good
standing
could
only
receive
a
special
bonus
by
forgoing
all
winter
holidays
and
billing
+18
hours
every
day
until
the
ball
(or
the
associate)
drops.
For
a
firm
that
shouts
about
well-being,
the
policy
sends
a
clear
message:
Unlike
associates
at
peer-ranked
firms,
A&P
associates
are
only
valued
while
the
meter
is
running.
Bah
humbug!
Way
to
ruin
Christmas,
A&P!
We
like
hearing
about
bonuses
almost
as
much
as
you
enjoy
spending
them.
As
soon
as
your
firm’s
memo
comes
out,
please email
it
to
us (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus”)
or
text
us
(646-820-8477).
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
Salary
&
Bonus
Alerts,
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.
Full
memo
on
the
next
page.
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
cannot
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.
