Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Announces Special COVID-19 Bonuses AND Their Year-End Bonus Pool

Bonus news is here. Will other firms follow?

By
on

(Image via Getty)

The COVID-19 tide has really turned in Biglaw.

We’re already tracking the Biglaw firms that are rolling back their previously announced compensation cuts caused by the novel coronavirus. But now comes word that a Biglaw firm has announced a special (monetary) thank you for all the hard work associates are putting in during this trying time.

Today, Cooley announced special “appreciation bonuses” that will give associates an extra $2,500 – $7,500. Considering the firm has not previously announced any compensation cuts, this generous extra bonus is quite the gesture. Here’s how the bonuses will break down by year:

And if you’ve been particularly busy during the pandemic — on track to bill in excess of 1,950 hours — the firm will give you a bonus “materially higher than the amount listed above.” That’s a pretty nice way to say thank you for the hard work. (In a moment of touching humanity, the firm also acknowledged that financial perks may not cover everyone’s needs during this trying time and committed to continue hiring talent to ease some of the burden, and providing additional resources to everyone.)

In addition to these special appreciation bonuses, the firm has also made some commitments for year-end bonuses. First of all, they announced that these bonuses will not replace or otherwise negatively impact 2020 bonuses. And the bonuses will at least be at the 2019 level (which ranged from $15,000 to $100,000 based on year). With all the upheaval caused by COVID, it’s nice to have confirmation bonus season won’t be another casualty — at least at Cooley.

Sponsored

You can read the firm’s full announcement on the next page.

Please help us help you when it comes to bonus news at other firms. As soon as your firm’s bonus memo comes out, please email it to us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus”) or text us (646-820-8477). 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, 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.

Sponsored

1 2Next »
Bonus Time

Enter your email address to sign up for ATL's Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.

Topics

, , , , , , ,