Biglaw
firm
Proskauer
was
quick
on
the
trigger
to
announce
a
bonus
scale
for
associates
that
met
the
prevailing
market
rate.
But
according
to
insiders
at
the
firm,
that
doesn’t
mean
they’re
doing
right
by
associates.
It
seems
the
firm
decided
there’s
a
new
hours
requirement
in
order
to
get
your
bonus,
but
they
didn’t
tell
associates
that
fact
until
*after*
they
failed
to
meet
the
threshold
(that
they
didn’t
know
about).
There’s
a
post
on
Reddit
making
the
rounds
where
user
syrnaza
revealed
that
Proskauer
is
doing
associates
dirty
by
announcing
an
hours
requirement
—
retroactively
to
2024.
Wait,
that’s
not
quite
what’s
going
on
—
according
to
the
post,
the
firm
is
*enforcing*
the
hours
requirement
but
never
formally
announced
it
to
all
associates.
Even
shadier.
Proskauer
instituted
an
hours
requirement
for
bonus
this
year
despite
NEVER
TELLING
ANYONE
about
it.
And
is
withholding
bonuses
for
people
who
missed
this
imaginary
made
up
hours
requirement
by
THREE
HOURS.Oh.
And
the
only
associates
they’ve
told
are
the
ones
whose
bonuses
got
withheld.
They
didn’t
even
announce
it
firmwide.
And
they
didn’t
announce
the
upcoming
requirement
for
bonus.
We
officially
“don’t
have
an
hours
requirement”Disgusting
behavior.
The
Nonequity
Partner
Instagram
account
also
confirmed
the
hours
requirement
was
applied
pretty
draconianly
and
without
any
notice
(notably
after
the
end
of
the
fiscal
year,
so
there
was
no
opportunity
for
associates
to
make
up
the
hours),
plus
there
is
no
clarity
as
to
which
nonbillable
hours
counted
toward
the
threshold.
Now,
this
isn’t
the
first
time
a
Biglaw
firm
has
leveraged
the
“discretion”
in
discretionary
bonuses
to
retroactively
apply
policies
to
associates’
bonuses.
But
it’s
still
shitty.
Working
in
Biglaw
is
an
intense,
laborious
grind
and
the
number
one
thing
that
makes
it
okay
is
the
compensation.
When
a
firm
shifts
the
goalposts
and
leaves
associates
(up
to)
$135,000
poorer
as
a
result,
that’s
not
cool.
Above
the
Law
reached
out
to
Proskauer
for
comment
but
we
have
not
heard
back.
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].
