The Am Law Top 50 Compensation Scorecard: Bonuses (2022)

In the world of Biglaw, the most sought-after firms reside within the top tier of the Am Law 100. What does bonus compensation look like at these prominent firms? (We already maintain our comprehensive scorecard of all the bonus information we receive from our sources here.)

Today, we are compiling a table of the Am Law Top 50 firms (in alphabetical order) that have already matched the 2022 year-end bonus scale, the minimum hours required to receive those bonuses (if disclosed to ATL), and the date those bonuses were or will be paid. We will update this table on a regular basis as bonuses are announced. You’ll note there are some blanks — these firms either haven’t moved yet or we don’t have enough information to confirm all the details. If you see any information here that is missing, incorrect, or needs clarification, please tell us. We rely on our readers to get these things right. Help us provide the best information in our ongoing bonus coverage.

Wilson Sonsini
Class of 2021: $20K
Class of 2014+: $115KJanuary 12, 20231950 hours (first 40 hours of vacation time included as billable time)January 31, 2023

Firm	Date Matched	Minimum Hours	Payout Date
Akin Gump Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 6, 2022	1950 hours (including with pro bono hours, general counsel hours, business development hours, and up to 100 hours of time spent on recruiting, diversity & inclusion, and/or innovation activities); associates with “exceptional” performance will receive larger bonuses	February 2023
Alston & Bird Class of 2022: $15K Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2015+: $115K	January 26, 2023	2000 hours (10% additional bonus money for 2200+ hours; 20% additional bonus money for 2400+ hours)	End of March 2023
Arnold & Porter Class of 2022: $15K Class of 2015+: $115K	December 19, 2022	Based on hours (10% additional bonus for 2400-2499 hours; 15% additional bonus for 2500-2599 hours; 20% additional bonus for 2600+ hours)	January 31, 2023
Baker McKenzie Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2015+: $115K	FIRST MOVER November 21, 2022	Undisclosed	February 10, 2023
Cleary Gottlieb Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 1, 2022	None	December 23, 2022
Cooley
Covington Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 14, 2022	Based on hours (bonus scale increased by 10% for 2200+ hours, increased by another 10% for 2400+ hours)	January 2023
Davis Polk Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 2, 2022	None	December 30, 2022
Debevoise Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 2, 2022	None	Undisclosed
Dechert Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 6, 2022	1950 hours (client billable, pro bono, firm as client, maximum of 50 community hours); associates who exceeded hours expectations eligible to receive an “extraordinary” bonus	January 23, 2023
DLA Piper Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2015+: $115K	December 16, 2022	Based on seniority, performance rating (3, 4 or 5), and total bonus hours (including billable, billable equivalent, pro bono, shadowing, and knowledge management hours); incremental increases for higher bonus hours	50% bonus on December 30, 2022, 50% bonus on January 27, 2023
Foley & Lardner
Gibson Dunn
Goodwin Procter Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2015+: $115K	January 25, 2023	1950 hours (additional bonus money for those who billed “materially higher” hours)	January 2023
Greenberg Traurig
Hogan Lovells Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2015+: $115K	December 2, 2022	2000 hours (including up to 150 pro bono hours until associates meet 1850 hours, then unlimited pro bono hours, and including up to 50 D&I hours, if they have billed at least 1800 hours; additional bonuses available for those who exceed hours minimums)	December 30, 2022
Holland & Knight
Jones Day
K&L Gates
King & Spalding
Kirkland & Ellis Individualized, above-market bonuses (but less so than usual)	December 20, 2022	None	Undisclosed
Latham 1st Year: $20K (base); $20.25K (median) 7th+ Year: $115K (base) $127K (median) Individualized, above-market bonuses	January 20, 2023	1900 hours (additional bonus money for those who bill higher hours)	January 31, 2023
Mayer Brown Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 7, 2022	NY: 1900 client equivalent hours; Outside NY: 2000 hours for base bonus, stub years not included (1900 CE hours required), 2100 hours for $23K-$132K, 2200 hours for $24K-$138K, 2300 hours for $$26K-$149.5K	February 17, 2023
McDermott Will & Emery Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	November 30, 2022	2000 hours (“substantial incremental bonuses” for associates who went “above and beyond” in hours and performance; ~65% of associates will earn above Cravath scale)	December 29, 2022
Milbank Class of 2022: $15K Class of 2014: $115K	December 2, 2022	None	December 31, 2022
Morgan Lewis Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2016: $105K	December 2, 2022	1900+ hours (20 of which must be pro bono hours)	January 31, 2023
Morrison & Foerster
Norton Rose
Orrick Assoc Year 1 (Fall ’22): $2.5K Assoc Year 1: $20K Senior Assoc Year 1+/Of Counsel: $115K	December 16, 2022	1950 hours (including up to 100 hours of a combination of training, DEI, business development, innovation, and other forms of firm and self-investment; pro bono hours; up to 40 hours of time devoted to unplugging)	Undisclosed
Paul Hastings Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2015+: $115K	December 2, 2022	2000 hours	February 3, 2023
Paul Weiss Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 2, 2022	None	December 22, 2022
Perkins Coie Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2014+: $115K	December 13, 2022	1950 hours; bonuses are majority lockstep, with some individualized (using this scale as a base); bonuses are different in non-major markets; some offices have high/low ranges for sixth-years and above	December 31, 2022
Proskauer Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2014: $115K	December 8, 2022	None	December 23, 2022
Quinn Emanuel
Reed Smith
Ropes & Gray Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015: $115K Class of 2014+: $130K	December 2, 2022	1900 creditable hours (increased bonuses for associates who annualized above hourly target)	December 23, 2022
Shearman & Sterling Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 16, 2022	None (BUT as of year-end, the firm has reportedly been enforcing a 2023 hours requirement to deny 2022 bonuses to associates, by (1) using a 10-month look back period (1/1-10/31); (2) applying a prorated utilization of 2050 hours; and (3) counting only billable and pro bono hours as follows: 110%+ utilization = market bonus; 100-109% utilization = 90% of market bonus; 90-99% utilization = 75% of market bonus; 0-89% utilization = 0% of market bonus)	December 30, 2022
Sidley Class of 2021: $20K Class of 2014+: $115K	December 8, 2022	2000 hours required for base bonuses; associates with “higher productivity and/or exceptional performance” will receive additional bonuses	Prior to December 31, 2022
Simpson Thacher Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015: $115K	December 5, 2022	None	December 28, 2022
Skadden Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2016: $105K or $115K Class of 2015+: $115K or $125K	November 30, 2022	1800 “productive hours” (including unlimited pro bono time and up to 150 hours of productive non-billable work)	December 16, 2022
Squire Patton
Sullivan & Cromwell
Troutman Pepper
Wachtell
Weil Gotshal Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+ and 3-year Counsel: $115K	December 7, 2022	None	January 31, 2023
White & Case Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2014: $115K	December 9, 2022	Eligibility criteria detailed in separate memo	February 13, 2023
Willkie Farr Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 2, 2022	None	December 30, 2022
WilmerHale
Winston & Strawn Class of 2022: $15K (pro-rated) Class of 2015+: $115K	December 12, 2022	2000 hours for market bonus (additional $2K-$25K for every hundred hours over 2000 for Class of 2018-2021; additional $4K-$30K for every hundred hours over 2000 for Class of 2017+)	January 31, 2023

Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm announces or 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 your help!

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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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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