Biglaw

Top Biglaw Firm Announces Bonuses And Changes Its Tune About Special Bonuses

Exciting news for everyone at the firm!

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‘I see bonus money!’

It’s the first week of February, and in the neverending Groundhog Day that is the world of Biglaw, another firm has rolled out bonuses.

Remember back in September when the leadership at O’Melveny & Myers refused to pay out special fall bonuses, but instead said there would be “enhanced” bonuses for select associates and counsel in February 2021? The time has come, and bonus news has finally been announced. How did things turn out for associates at the best law firm to work for in America, as ranked by Vault?

As is their tradition, OMM announced bonuses via voicemail, so there’s no memo to share with everyone. But, we can confirm the firm is paying full market salary as well as associate appreciation bonuses. Here are both of those bonus scales, in case you’ve somehow forgotten what they look like.

Year-end Bonuses

• Class of 2019 – $15,000 bonus

• Class of 2018 – $25,000 bonus

• Class of 2017 – $50,000 bonus

• Class of 2016 – $65,000 bonus

• Class of 2015 – $80,000 bonus

• Class of 2014 – $90,000 bonus

• Class of 2013 – $100,000 bonus

Special Bonuses

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• Class of 2019: $7,500

• Class of 2018: $10,000

• Class of 2017: $20,000

• Class of 2016: $27,500

• Class of 2015: $32,500

• Class of 2014: $37,000

• Class of 2013: $40,000

Associates who contacted us about the firm’s bonuses seemed generally pleased with the news. “O’Melveny announced bonuses, market rate for regular bonuses and a one time appreciation bonus that matches market as well,” said one of our sources. “What’s surprising is appreciation bonuses are not tied to hours. Now we wait to see how much the firm takes away as a result of draconian penalties for late time sheets.”

Now that would be truly cringeworthy. We await word on whether associates will actually receive market bonuses after these reported penalties, but for now, congratulations to everyone at the firm.

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

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Staci ZaretskyStaci 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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