\
  The most prestigious law school admissions discussion board in the world.
BackRefresh Options Favorite

New partner bonuses?

Any intel on this board re what kind of a bonus v50 firms gi...
Boyish ruby puppy
  04/29/17
At many firms you make less money the first year. If it's a...
Blue hideous locus
  04/29/17
A firm that pays lockstep salary, but holds on to some discr...
Boyish ruby puppy
  04/29/17
I'm not sure I understand your question. If you're at a fir...
Blue hideous locus
  04/29/17
Got it. They don't pay partners lockstep here. Partners are ...
Boyish ruby puppy
  04/29/17
lockstep partner salary is absolutely TTT
Slate Shivering Weed Whacker
  04/29/17
NYC lockstep for associate base, I didn't mean partner
Boyish ruby puppy
  04/29/17
What? It's the Cravath model. A few weeks later, the Cra...
Blue hideous locus
  04/30/17
There are pros and cons.
jet-lagged geriatric reading party
  04/30/17
Yep. I mean senior associates are making $400k so its not te...
Poppy house new version
  04/29/17
Lol not at my firm. Partner pay starts at $1.5M
concupiscible stead
  04/29/17
(Wachtell associate)
jet-lagged geriatric reading party
  04/30/17
Wait, are you asking what your bonus is in the year you make...
Blue hideous locus
  04/29/17
Yes, well class of 2008 for the upcoming year (analogous to ...
Boyish ruby puppy
  04/29/17
One data point: Firm is V25, associates are paid lockstep...
Green twisted ladyboy
  04/30/17
So there is a huge immediate upside when making partner ther...
Boyish ruby puppy
  04/30/17
At firms with tight pay bands your salary can triple the yea...
Blue hideous locus
  04/30/17
FUCK OFF! hth
concupiscible stead
  04/29/17


Poast new message in this thread



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 7:21 PM
Author: Boyish ruby puppy

Any intel on this board re what kind of a bonus v50 firms give for associates for the year they make partner?

Basically the same 100k that is the top of the published scale?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33193117)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 7:24 PM
Author: Blue hideous locus

At many firms you make less money the first year. If it's a lockstep firm it can be a huge increase.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33193129)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 7:30 PM
Author: Boyish ruby puppy

A firm that pays lockstep salary, but holds on to some discretion with bonuses (superstars exceed cravath, high performers match, average associate gets less than cravath bonus)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33193159)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 7:46 PM
Author: Blue hideous locus

I'm not sure I understand your question. If you're at a firm with a lockstep partner salary in the realm of Cravath then you're gonna jump from ~$350k salary to ~$700k or better, but if there's a discretionary bonus part of the draw then that's discretionary. The draw is based on how your firm does that year and your share of equity. A lot of the time it costs money to buy in and that loan is taken from your salary/draw.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33193296)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 10:14 PM
Author: Boyish ruby puppy

Got it. They don't pay partners lockstep here. Partners are grouper tighter in the 1-2M range than most firms though

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33194259)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 10:19 PM
Author: Slate Shivering Weed Whacker

lockstep partner salary is absolutely TTT

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33194292)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 10:22 PM
Author: Boyish ruby puppy

NYC lockstep for associate base, I didn't mean partner

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33194316)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 30th, 2017 1:17 PM
Author: Blue hideous locus

What? It's the Cravath model.

A few weeks later, the Cravath lawyers assembled and unanimously voted her into the partnership. She received no signing bonus, no guarantee, no special deal. Instead, Cravath is paying her according to the firm’s seniority-based, lock-step system, which sets the spread between the highest- and lowest-paid partners firmly at 3 to 1.

“We’re not going to buy a lawyer with a big guarantee,” Mr. Chesler said. “That’s not how we do things. That’s not the Cravath way.”

The Cravath way? Really? One might dismiss such high-minded rhetoric as idealistic poppycock from a white-shoe lawyer hanging on to antiquated notions about the practice of law.

But the Cravath way, and Mr. Chesler’s impassioned views about law firm partnerships, may be worth paying attention to at a challenging moment for corporate law firms. The implosion of Dewey earlier this year — the largest law-firm bankruptcy in history — exposed the dark side of prevailing trends in Big Law. Four years after the financial crisis, the business climate remains challenging.

“At a difficult time in the legal industry, and at a time when the failure of Dewey illustrates how much can go wrong in the existing competitive environment, it makes good sense to look at the truly elite law firms that have done things right,” said Michael Trotter, a lawyer in Atlanta who has written books about the profession.

Cravath, along with Debevoise & Plimpton and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, are three remaining law firms that adhere to a strict lock-step compensation system, paying their partners in a narrow range according to seniority.

There are no stars or empire builders at these firms. No one gets paid extra for bringing in clients, so there aren’t disputes over who gets credit for new business. There is complete transparency: All the partners know, to the penny, what every other partner makes. (A few other prestigious firms, including Davis Polk & Wardwell and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, pay partners in a tight band and maintain similar cultures.)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33197634)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 30th, 2017 1:18 PM
Author: jet-lagged geriatric reading party

There are pros and cons.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33197638)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 7:30 PM
Author: Poppy house new version

Yep. I mean senior associates are making $400k so its not terrible, but new income partners take a pay cut esp considering taxes and insurance and stuff.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33193169)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 10:48 PM
Author: concupiscible stead

Lol not at my firm. Partner pay starts at $1.5M

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33194525)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 30th, 2017 1:14 PM
Author: jet-lagged geriatric reading party

(Wachtell associate)

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33197626)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 7:57 PM
Author: Blue hideous locus

Wait, are you asking what your bonus is in the year you make partner at lock step firm where your "Class of 2008" isn't listed?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33193379)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 10:04 PM
Author: Boyish ruby puppy

Yes, well class of 2008 for the upcoming year (analogous to class of 2007 for the last announcements 4-5 months ago)

If you are elected partner in November, and expect a bonus a couple months later (effectively, paid when you are a partner, but for your last year as an associate), what does that bonus look like?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33194209)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 30th, 2017 1:07 PM
Author: Green twisted ladyboy

One data point:

Firm is V25, associates are paid lockstep base on Cravath scale, but billable minimum for Cravath bonus, with slight improvement on Cravath based on performance/hours. Partner comp is a black box understood to be roughly lockstep.

New partners will get a bonus equal to what their draw would have been if they had been 1st year partners for the entire year, with nothing deducted for a buy-in: e.g., if the first-year partner would have had a draw of $600k, then the senior associate who makes partner that year will get a $600k bonus, on top of whatever salary he made that year anyway.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33197565)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 30th, 2017 1:13 PM
Author: Boyish ruby puppy

So there is a huge immediate upside when making partner there? This firm is probably not that far behind the one you described for comp purposes and vault ranking

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33197617)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 30th, 2017 1:21 PM
Author: Blue hideous locus

At firms with tight pay bands your salary can triple the year you make equity partner.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33197654)



Reply Favorite

Date: April 29th, 2017 10:47 PM
Author: concupiscible stead

FUCK OFF!

hth

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3599690&forum_id=2#33194519)