I understand that law firms need to retain their top talent. That is certainly a benefit to clients as well. The question becomes—and this is always the tension with law firms and their clients—how much, if any, of the bonuses do they try to pass along to clients in the form of increased rates?
— Chaka Patterson, general counsel of Chicago-based Adtalem Global Education, commenting warily on the special bonuses that several firms handed out to associates earlier this fall in appreciation for their hard work during the pandemic. “There certainly can be the perception of a little salt being added to the wound—particularly if clients are finding themselves having to cut back, furlough, or eliminate positions or take other drastic cost-saving steps—to see law firms so outwardly rewarding people with extra bonuses,” said the GC of a major security company, who offered thoughts anonymously due to a working relationship with some of the firms that had offered these bonuses. “They could have tried to pass savings back to clients, and it doesn’t seem like that’s the way they’re going.”
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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.