As
they
are
wont
to
do,
Biglaw
firms
have
matched
the
prevailing
market
year-end and special
bonus
rates
that
were
first
set
by
Milbank
in
November,
but
some
Biglaw
firms
are
eager
to
go
above
and
beyond
to
financially
compensate
associates
who
have
truly
dedicated
themselves
to
their
work
by
putting
in
a
tremendous
number
of
billable
hours.
Dechert
—
a
firm
that
brought
in
$1,293,528,000
in
gross
revenue
in
2023,
putting
it
at
No.
39
on
the
Am
Law
100
—
is
one
of
those
firms.
The
firm
announced
its
Milbank
match
in
November,
including
its
usual
“extraordinary”
bonuses
for
associates
who
hit
2,200
and
2,400
billable
hours,
awarding
them
with
30%
and
40%
above-market
bonuses,
respectively.
But
that’s
not
all
the
firm
is
doing….
Sources
tell
us
that
on
Christmas
Eve,
Mark
E.
Thierfelder
and
David
W.
Forti,
the
firm’s
co-chairs,
sent
out
a
firmwide
memo
thanking
everyone
for
their
had
work
in
2024,
and
letting
attorneys
know
that
Dechert
would
be
offering
additional
“enhanced”
bonuses
to
its
hardest
workers.
Here’s
an
excerpt
from
that
memo:
This
year,
in
addition
to
our
usual
30%
and
40%
above
market
bonuses,
we
have
enhanced
bonuses
up
to
130%
above
the
market
to
thank
those
who
went
well
beyond
our
normal
hours
grid.
For
associates
in
EMEA
who
met
the
U.S.
bonus
targets,
their
bonus
amounts
will
be
commensurate
with
the
U.S.
scale.
This
is
not
setting
a
new
hours
expectation,
but
we
recognize
the
incredible
personal
sacrifices
that
some
of
our
lawyers
have
made
to
deliver
truly
outstanding
client
service.
Wow!
Now
that’s
a
big
bonus!
These
extra-extraordinary
bonuses
will
be
paid
out
by
the
end
of
January.
Congratulations
to
everyone
at
Dechert!
(Flip
to
the
next
page
to
see
the
full
memo.)
Remember
everyone,
we
depend
on
your
tips
to
stay
on
top
of
compensation
updates,
so
when
your
firm
announces
or
matches,
please
text
us
(646-820-8477)
or email
us (subject
line:
“[Firm
Name]
Bonus/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
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 Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.
