Earlier
this
week,
Milbank
surprised
associates
with
an
early
year-end
bonus
announcement.
The
scale
matched
what
was
generously
offered
last
year,
with
bonus
amounts
ranging
from
$15,000
to
$115,000.
Not
to
be
forgotten
are
Milbank’s
special
summer
bonuses,
which
ranged
from
$6,000
to
$25,000.
In
total,
Milbank
is
offering
total
bonuses
ranging
from
$21,000
to
$140,000.
When
will
the
matching
spree
begin?
And
is
any
Biglaw
firm
now
willing
to
match
Milbank
on
its
special
bonuses?
The
waiting
game
has
started
as
all
eyes
turn
to
Cravath.
Last
year,
Milbank
rolled
out
its
bonuses
in
early
November,
and
the
vast
majority
of
firms
waited
for
Cravath
to
finally
make
its
own
announcement
three
weeks
later
before
Biglaw’s
annual
matching
mayhem
began.
Will
Cravath
meet
the
moment
and
match
Milbank’s
summer
bonuses?
Industry
insiders
think
it
could
happen.
The
American
Lawyer
has
the
details:
“Given
the
history
of
these
firms
paying
the
same
associate
compensation,
at
least
at
the
top
of
the
market,
my
thought
with
what
we
were
going
to
see
happen
this
year
was
the
other
firms
were
going
to
kind
of
take
that
special
bonus
into
their
year-end
bonus
numbers,”
said
Stephanie
Biderman,
who
works
in
the
associate
practice
group
of
recruiting
firm
Major
Lindsey
&
Africa.
“Time
will
tell,
and
we’ll
see
if
that’s
actually
what
happens.”Biderman
said
her
immediate
takeaway
is
that
Milbank
continues
in
its
role
as
a
market
leader
and
first
mover
when
it
comes
to
associate
compensation,
and
the
question
now
is
whether
other
large
firms
would
follow
suit
with
the
same
figures
as
Milbank
or
exceed
that
scale.
It
simply
may
be
too
early
to
conjecture
at
this
point,
she
said.
So,
will
other
firms
actually
be
able
to
ante
up
when
it
comes
to
offering
Milbank
money
on
top
of
their
year-end
bonuses?
Unfortunately,
not
every
large
law
firm
is
in
a
position
to
throw
around
$25K,
and
even
the
ones
that
are
may
attach
additional
strings
to
the
money
(like
hours
or
office
attendance
requirements).
Associates
should
be
prepared
for
some
extra
fine
print
with
this
year’s
cash
bash.
Speaking
of
big
bonuses,
could
Milbank’s
already
generous
bonuses
go
even
higher?
As
we
noted
just
yesterday,
Biglaw
firms
are
doing
well
this
year
—
really,
really
well.
“Traditionally,
when
the
numbers
go
much
higher,
it’s
because
these
firms
had
incredibly
profitable,
successful
years,”
Biderman
said.
She’s
not
sure
right
now
“if,
as
a
result,
we’re
going
to
see
those
bonus
numbers
go
up
higher.”
Only
time
will
tell…
tick-tock,
Cravath!
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
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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
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address
in
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below
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post.
If
you
previously
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for
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bonus
alerts,
you
don’t
need
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You’ll
receive
an
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notification
within
minutes
of
each
bonus
announcement
that
we
publish.
Thanks
for
all
of
your
help!
Big
Law
Expected
To
Follow
Milbank’s
Lead
With
Associate
Year-End
Bonuses
[American
Lawyer]
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
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