D.C.-based
litigation
boutique
Wilkinson
Stekloff
announced
on
Friday
that
associates
are
getting
special
bonuses!
And
not
some
delightful,
but
relatively
small,
special
bonus
of
$5K
—
these
babies
*start*
at
$25,000
and
top
out
at
$60,000
for
the
most
senior
associates.
But
maybe
these
aren’t
much
of
a
shock
—
the
firm
has
proven
in
the
past
it
has
what
it
takes
to
beat
Biglaw
compensation.
The
message
from
founding
partner
Brian
Stekloff
(available
in
full
below)
thanks
associates
for
their
hard
work
so
far
this
year,
and
includes
this
line,
“We
are
also
grateful
that
many
of
us
are
working
on
essential
matters
to
fight
government
overreach
and
defend
the
rule
of
law.”
Which
we
simple
must
read
as
shady
AF
towards
the
Biglaw
firms
that
have
bent
a
knee
to
the
Trump
administration.
The
special
bonus
scale
at
the
firm
is
as
follows:
|
Class Year |
Bonus ($) |
| 2024 | 25,000 |
| 2023 | 30,000 |
| 2022 | 35,000 |
| 2021 | 40,000 |
| 2020 | 45,000 |
| 2019 | 50,000 |
| 2018 | 55,000 |
| 2017 | 60,000 |
Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
June
1,
and
counsel
bonuses
will
be
individualized.
This
is
normally
the
time
that
Above
the
Law
would
wonder
if
Biglaw
firms
will
step
up
to
match
the
boutique.
But…
Biglaw
leaders
seem
pretty
occupied
at
the
moment.
My
guess
(though
I’d
love
to
be
wrong)
is
Biglaw
will
ignore
this
compensation
move.
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!
Read
the
full
announcement:
From: Brian
Stekloff
Sent: Friday,
April
11,
2025
1:40
PM
To: #Everyone
Subject: Special
Bonus
Announcement
Dear
all,
As
Beth
and
I
have
said
to
all
of
you,
when
we
started
the
firm,
we
wanted
to
build
something
that
embodied
a
culture
of
camaraderie
and
teamwork.
Over
the
past
few
months,
we
have
demonstrated
that
culture
in
unprecedented
ways.
Through
it
all,
we
have
maintained
the
highest
level
of
work
and
have
continued
to
provide
our
clients
with
the
first-class
representations
they
both
demand
and
deserve.
As
you
all
know,
this
has
been
and
continues
to
be
a
particularly
busy
stretch
in
which
we
are
preparing
for
multiple
upcoming
trials
that
will
take
place
over
the
summer
and
early
fall—with
even
more
scheduled
to
follow.
We
are
also
grateful
that
many
of
us
are
working
on
essential
matters
to
fight
government
overreach
and
defend
the
rule
of
law.
Simply
put,
we
are
incredibly
grateful
for
the
hard
work
and
dedication
that
each
of
you
has
demonstrated
to
start
2025.
In
recognition
of
the
excellence
being
demonstrated
by
each
of
you,
we
are
announcing
special
bonuses—separate
and
apart
from
end-of-year
bonuses—that
will
be
paid
on
June
1,
2025.
For
non-attorneys,
the
bonus
will
be
$7500.
For
associates,
the
bonuses
will
be
as
follows:
|
Class Year |
Bonus ($) |
| 2024 | 25,000 |
| 2023 | 30,000 |
| 2022 | 35,000 |
| 2021 | 40,000 |
| 2020 | 45,000 |
| 2019 | 50,000 |
| 2018 | 55,000 |
| 2017 | 60,000 |
Counsel
bonuses
will
be
announced
individually.
We
want
to
thank
you
again
for
all
that
you
have
done
this
year
and
will
continue
to
do
as
we
head
into
this
stretch
of
trials.
It’s
been
overwhelming
to
see
everyone
come
together
to
support
one
another
during
this
busy
time.
We
look
forward
to
many
continued
successes
and
celebrations
in
our
matters
and
are
proud
to
have
such
wonderful
and
committed
colleagues.
Best,
The
Partners