Biglaw
might
not
be
ready
to
announce
bonuses
yet,
what
with
Milbank
special
bonus
money
potentially
gumming
up
the
works,
but
that’s
not
stopping
boutique
firms
from
firing
out
of
the
gate
with
bonuses
that’ll
make
their
Biglaw
competitors
blush.
On
that
note,
Texas-based
complex
commercial
litigation
boutique
Vartabedian
Hester
&
Haynes
today
announced
that
associates
will,
in
fact,
be
getting
the
Milbank
special
bonus
money,
on
top
of
bonuses
matching
the
generous
year-end
bonus
scale
that
Milbank
unleashed
on
Monday.
The
firm
is
less
than
a
year
old,
and
it’s
already
paying
out
Biglaw
bucks.
Wow!
Here’s
an
excerpt
from
the
firm’s
bonus
announcement:
We
started
the
Firm
with
seemingly
inconsistent
goals:
to
provide
the
same
level
of
excellent
client
service
and
results
as
when
we
were
in
Big
Law,
but
at
substantially
lower
rates;
to
lower
billable
hour
requirements
for
Associates,
but
to
compensate
Associates
in
line
with
the
top
of
the
market.
Despite
no
material
revenue
for
the
first
three
months
of
2024
as
we
launched
the
Firm,
our
hard
work,
dedication,
and
devoted
clients
put
us
in
a
position
to
meet
all
of
these
goals
this
year.
A
source
tells
Above
the
Law
that
lawyers
were
enticed
to
work
at
VHH
with
“the
promise
of
less
work
and
comp
that
would
match
or
beat
Cravath/Milbank
scale”
—
and
talk
about
follow
through!
Needless
to
say,
associates
are
pretty
excited.
As
noted
in
the
firm’s
memo,
year-end
bonuses
come
in
addition
to
associates’
signing
bonuses,
special
bonuses
that
have
already
been
distributed,
and
a
$5,000
firm
profit
share
awarded
in
the
spring.
Here’s
what
the
eye-popping
2024
bonus
scale
looks
like
at
the
firm:
-
Class
of
2024:
$21,000 -
Class
of
2023:
$26,000 -
Class
of
2022:
$40,000 -
Class
of
2021:
$72,500 -
Class
of
2020:
$95,000 -
Class
of
2019:
$115,000 -
Class
of
2018:
$130,000 -
Class
of
2017:
$140,000 -
Class
of
2016:
$140,000
Bonuses
will
be
paid
on
or
before
December
31st
to
all
associates
who
have
met
their
1800-hour
billable
goal.
Congrats
to
everyone
at
the
VHH!
(Flip
the
page
to
see
the
full
memo
from
Vartabedian
Hester
&
Haynes.)
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!
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
X/Twitter
and
Threads
or
connect
with
her
on
LinkedIn.
