Biglaw

O'Melveny Says No To Fall Bonuses. Are COVID Appreciation Bonuses Over?

*Another* Biglaw firm says they won't be doing fall bonuses.

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Rut-roh. What do they say about three being a trend? Now we have three prestigious Biglaw firms declining to pony up fall bonuses, creating a clear haves/have-nots line — at least until end-of-the-year bonuses come in.

So, let’s walk through a little bonus history, shall we? It was only two weeks ago (but in 2020 time, that’s practically a lifetime) that Cooley started the COVID appreciation bonus game. And remember how exciting it was when Davis Polk came over the top of the Cooley scale? And firms quickly started piling on this new bonus scale. Weil did their own, seemingly unpopular, hours-based bonus, but, still, it was better than no bonuses at all.

But, sigh, Kirkland — the world’s richest law firm — begged off fall special bonuses, and seemed to be asking the market not to follow the trend. And Cravath seconded that.

And now O’Melveny & Myers — ranked the best firm to work for in the country — has taken a pass on fall bonuses too. As a tipster at the firm notes:

Firm management at O’Melveny announced at a firmwide Zoom townhall that there will be no fall bonuses. Instead, there will be “enhanced” bonuses for select associates and counsel in February 2021, which is when the firm normally pays out bonuses.

I mean, maybe those “enhanced” bonuses will make up the difference to the market standard? Well, insiders aren’t super hopeful:

It’s unclear what “enhanced” bonuses means and no further details were provided. The firm’s bonuses are always slightly individualized, so it’s unclear how these bonuses will be different from any other year.

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Of course, we do have to wait until the year-end bonuses to pass judgment, but it sure seems like a knock on that best firm. And… it doesn’t bode well for the industry as a whole (or at least for associates hoping for a COVD appreciation bonus). It’s now a lot easier for other Biglaw firms to pass on fall bonuses now that Kirkland, Cravath, and O’Melveny have paved the way.

We reached out to the firm about their bonus decision, but have yet to hear back.

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.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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