The Great Salary Cut Rollback Tracker: Where Does Your Law Firm Stand?

Firm Measures Taken Who Is Affected? Baker Botts Salary Cut Reductions
Special Bonuses Staff, Associates, Counsel (prior salary cuts — 20 to 30 percent based on salary level for counsel, 20 percent for associates, and 0 to 20 percent based on salary level for staff — will be reduced by 50 percent; special bonuses for exceptional performance of non-partner timekeepers, with special staff bonuses to be awarded later) Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates (in April, salaries for anyone making over $40K were cut by 15 percent, but in July, the firm rolled back the severity of the salary cuts, going from 15 percent to 7.5 percent cuts) Cadwalader Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Partners (in March, the firm slashed associate compensation by 25 percent and staff compensation by 10 percent; on top of those cuts, partners and senior counsel chose to forgo distributions entirely; as of August 1, everyone’s prior salaries restored) Cozen O’Connor Salary Cut Reductions Partners (partner distributions on hold in the spring, but as of July 1, partners’ pay checks were back to normal) Crowell & Moring Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Counsel (in April, associates and counsel got a 15 percent cut, and staff making $100K+ took cuts in the range of 5 to 20 percent; on September 1, all compensation will revert to pre-pandemic amounts) Fox Rothschild Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Partners (in May, the firm enacted a tiered salary reduction of between 10 percent and 15 percent for all attorneys and staff making more than $100K would take effect in May, while partners reduce their monthly draws between 10 percent and 20 percent; as of September 1, all of those cuts will be ruduced by 50 percent) Holland & Knight Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates (the firm restored 30 percent to 50 percent of the original 17.5 percent (associates, counsel, and senior professionals), 15 percent (staff making $150K+) or 10 percent (staff making $75-$150K) cuts at the end of June, with all associates receiving a 30 percent restoration of their salaries) Husch Blackwell Special Bonuses Associates (associate client development bonus that was supposed to be deferred until January 2021 under the auspices of the firm’s COVID cuts.was unexpectedly paid on August 15) Katten Muchin Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates (in May, the firm slashed salaries for staff and attorneys making over $100K by 20 percent; in mid-August, the firm walked back its salary cuts, reducing them by 50 percent) K&L Gates Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Partners (in April, the firm reduced salaries across the board, with equity partners seeing a 20 percent reduction in scheduled advances, and firm leaders taking even larger reductions; income partners, associates, and allied professionals and staff were subject to a 15 percent reduction in their salary provided their income didn’t fall below a $75K floor; at the end of September, equity partners will see a 15 percent reduction in advances; at the beginning of September, all other employees’ salary cuts will be reduced by 10 percent, with the floor shifting upward from $75K to $100K) Kennedys Salary Freeze Rollback
Special Bonuses Staff, Associates (staff were supposed to have their salary reviews in May, while attorneys were supposed to have their salary reviews in September; all employees will now have their salary reviews in November and all bonus commitments will be honored) Loeb & Loeb Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Partners (income partners, senior counsel, of counsel, associates, and senior staff had their salaries cut by 15 percent and paralegals and other staff saw 10 percent cuts; those cuts will be reduced by 60 percent on September 1) Lowenstein Sandler Salary Cut Reductions Partners (after halting partner distributions from February through April, the firm was able to pay higher than usual distributions in May and June) Munck Wilson Mandela Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Partners (in May, the firm reduced compensation for all employees, while some partners voluntarily deferred the entirety of their compensation for three months; as of July 1, the firm returned all employees back to their standard compensation) Ogletree Special Bonuses Associates (special bonus of $10K for associates who bill 1,700 hours in 2020; associates who bill 1,900 hours will receive an additional $10K on top of the special bonus; associates who exceed 2,000 hours in 2020 will qualify for a bonus based on a percentage of their salary) Pillsbury Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Counsel (all salary cuts made in May will be reduced (adjusted salary cuts for associates and counsel are now 15 percent, down from 20 percent; for staff making more than $100K, the pay cut is 10 percent, down from 15 percent; for staff making between $75K and $100K, the pay cut is 5 percent, down from 10 percent); all reductions in compensation incurred in the first half of 2020 are being repaid in full Reed Smith Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Counsel, Partners (on September 1, for professional staff earning more than $100K, a current 10 percent cut will become a 5 percent cut; a 15 percent cut for associates will remain at that level (it was supposed to increase to a 20 percent cut on September 1); and a 20 percent compensation cut for fixed-share partners and counsel will be reduced to 15 percent) Sheppard Mullin Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Counsel (in April, the firm cut salaries by 12 percent for associates, special counsel, and staff attorneys, while staff members making more than $90K had cuts of 10 percent and staff members making between $70K and $90K saw their salaries cut by 5 percent; all of those cuts will be reduced by 50 percent starting on August 31) Stoel Rives Salary Cut Reductions Staff, Associates, Partners (current compensation reduction for all associates, staff, and of counsel lawyers will change from 20 percent to 10 percent; staff salaries and schedules will be modified as follows: staff with a 20 percent reduction will change to 10 percent, staff with a 15 percent reduction will change to 7.5 percent, staff with a 10 percernt reduction will change to 5 percent, staff with a 5 percent reduction will return to full salary and schedule; third quarter partner distributions will be reduced by 15 percent instead of the 20 percent reduction in Q2)