Troutman
Pepper
pushed
back
the
merger
with
Locke
Lord
from
earlier
this
year,
but
as
the
leaves
begin
to
fall
in
earnest
(and
potential
billion-dollar
conflicts
get
resolved),
it’s
time
to
get
on
with
the
tie-up.
And
part
of
that
move
—
beyond
adding
Locke
and
Lord
to
poor
Pepper
and
Hamilton
as
names
that
will
inevitably
achieve
footnote
status
—
involves
figuring
out
how
the
new
firm
intends
to
compensate
its
merged
associates.
Tipsters
inform
us
that
late
last
week,
Troutman
outlined
the
new
compensation
formula
for
the
firm
moving
forward.
Currently,
Troutman
Pepper
matches
the
market
scale
for
first
and
second
years,
with
salaries
falling
increasingly
behind
the
market
as
attorneys
become
more
senior.
The
new
Troutman
Pepper
Locke,
or
“Troutman”
to
everyone
else,
will
most
likely
enter
the
Am
Law
50
based
on
past
financial
results,
boasting
~$1.570
billion
in
revenue
with
about
1,600
attorneys
in
35
offices.
The
combined
entity
will
still
pay
market
for
the
first
two
years,
but
afterward,
we
hear
the
firm
will
offer
a
two-tier
scale
with
associates
qualifying
for
either
the
“high”
or
“low”
scale.
Despite
this
new
announcement,
sources
say
they
remain
fuzzy
on
what
factors
will
determine
an
associate’s
high-
or
low-tier
fate
and
we
have
not
seen
a
definitive
scale.
So,
understandably,
midlevel
associates
do
not
seem
thrilled.
One
associate
described
the
announcement
as
“We’re
projected
to
be
Am
Law
top
30
post
merger,
but
still
are
paying
like
an
Am
Law
200
firm.”
While
the
furious
lateral
movement
of
a
couple
years
ago
has
died
down,
firms
are
seeing
legitimately
higher
demand
across
multiple
practice
areas.
Unlike
the
last
few
cycles,
hiring
is
up
at
the
same
time
as
both
productivity
and
demand.
That’s
a
recipe
for
associates
to
test
the
lateral
waters.
Which
might
be
Troutman’s
goal,
as
mergers
produce
redundancies.
Anyway,
to
all
the
soon-to-be-merged
associates…
may
your
fortunes
find
you
in
the
higher
tier.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
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interested
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and
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Joe
also
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Managing
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