Biglaw Firm Makes A Lackluster Entry Into The Associate Compensation Game
Some money is better than no money.
After patiently waiting for news of any change to the associate compensation structure at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, they finally got word on Friday afternoon about the firm’s plans. It was not what most associates had been hoping for.
The firm did not announce a full match of the Milbank/Simpson/Cravath scale, which is the prevailing market standard for elite Biglaw firms. Instead, the firm announced no change to the base compensation for associates but did pony up supplemental bonuses for associates — but there’s a catch. While 1st, 2nd, and 4th year associates will get sightly more than their peers at other firms in terms of special bonuses, they only get half of the supplemental bonus amount now, and the other half at year end. The supplemental bonuses are contingent on meeting a billing threshold, but associates not on target for those hours at mid-year can make them up by the end of the year and receive the full supplemental bonus.
The reaction we’ve been hearing from Pillsbury associates has been uniformly disappointed:
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Pretty depressing information to get on a Friday afternoon.
Pillsbury Formally Announces They Are A Tier 2 Firm: On late Friday afternoon, Pillsbury informed its associates that it is not matching the new salary scale. This comes on the heels of the firm informing associates that it has had its most profitable years in firm history the last two years and that they are beating those numbers this year. The firm also recently informed associates that the strategic goal is to be an Am Law top 30 firm in the next three years. After this bullshit, I’ll just say “good luck with that.”
Firm management should know that many mid-level and senior associates are already interviewing with other firms.
Pillsbury sent memo on Friday and associates are not happy
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(Read the full memo from the firm on the next page.)
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. 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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