Try
as
it
might,
Lewis
Brisbois
Bisgaard
&
Smith
can’t
seem
to
keep
its
name
out
of
headlines
that
cast
the
firm
in
a
negative
light.
In
recent
years,
the
firm
suffered
a
defection
en
masse,
when more
than
100
attorneys left
to
join
a
(now
defunct)
boutique
firm.
Shortly
thereafter,
Robert
“Bob”
Lewis,
the
firm’s
founder
and
then
chair,
decided
to step
down.
At
the
time,
Lewis
was
one
of
the
longest-serving
chairs
of
any
Am
Law
100
firm.
Lewis
then
decided
to
retire
early,
taking
several
of
his
family
members
with
him.
Now,
the
bad
news
has
hit
the
firm’s
compensation
systems
—
and
lawyers
are
none
too
pleased.
Back
in
February,
Lewis
Brisbois
promised
lawyers
that
change
was
coming
to
their
salaries
and
bonuses
as
the
firm
attempted
to
leave
its
drama
in
the
past.
Chief
Operating
Officer
Rich
Davis
noted
in
an
email
(available
on
the
next
page)
that
because
the
firm
had
implemented
“new
processes”
to
“recogniz[e]
strong
performance
and
reward[]
deserving
talent,”
that
hours-based
formulaic
bonuses
(typically
paid
in
the
February
15
pay
period)
would
be
delayed
by
one
month,
while
merit
salary
increases
and
discretionary
bonuses
would
be
paid
out
on
time
during
the
March
31
pay
period.
The
March
31
pay
period
has
now
come
and
gone,
but
not
all
Lewis
Brisbois
attorneys
have
received
their
salary
increases
and
discretionary
bonuses.
In
another
email
from
Davis
(available
on
the
next
page),
he
states
that
changes
to
compensation
“presented
some
logistical
challenges”
that
impacted
payment
timing.
We’ve
been
told
that
this
email
was
received
by
lawyers
across
the
country,
ranging
from
California
to
the
Midwest
to
Florida.
Here’s
an
excerpt
from
that
email:
Regrettably,
the
base
raise
and
discretionary
bonuses
for
attorneys
in
your
office
were
not
able
to
be
processed
in
time
to
be
reflected
in
the
March
31st
pay
cycle.
These
amounts
will
be
reflected
in
your
checks
for
the
April
15th
pay
cycle.
The
base
pay
increases
will
be
retroactive
to
January
1,
so
this
unfortunate
delay
will
impact
the
timing
of
payments,
but
not
the
net
amounts
received.
Meanwhile,
insiders
at
the
firm
tell
Above
the
Law
that
only
a
limited
number
of
attorneys
at
the
firm
have
received
their
compensation
memos,
meaning
that
very
few
people
know
what
their
salary
increases
will
be.
“What
a
disaster,”
said
one
of
our
sources.
“Why
would
any
recent
law
grad
or
lateral
want
to
come
to
a
firm
that
pays
bonuses
and
raises
late?”
Best
of
luck
to
associates,
of
counsel,
and
nonequity
partners
at
the
firm
who
have
been
kept
(im)patiently
waiting
on
their
raises
and
bonuses.
We
certainly
hope
lawyers
at
the
firm
receive
their
money
on
Tax
Day.
(Flip
to
the
next
page
to
read
the
emails
sent
by
Lewis
Brisbois
COO
Rich
Davis.)
Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/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
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 Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.