Biglaw Firm’s 2017-18 Bonuses That They'll Pay You In 2019

All money news is good news.

The Biglaw firm of Sheppard Mullin has a strange way of giving out their yearly bonuses. As we’ve discussed in detail before, their measuring period runs from 10/1-9/30, though the actual bonus money won’t get disbursed until March while promotions and raises take effect in January. (UPDATE: According to additional tipsters, the firm has upped its bonus payday this cycle to January.) Confused yet? Well, the key to remember here is that while Sheppard isn’t setting the market standard for the upcoming 2018 bonus season (we’ll likely have to wait until ’round Thanksgiving for that circus to begin), money news is still news we are happy to report.

As is par for the course at Sheppard, there hasn’t yet been an announcement, but the memo and bonus structure have been found on the firm’s intranet. (UPDATE: Obviously as the firm has yet to make an official announcement, the numbers here are subject to change/market influences. But as this isn’t the first time the firm’s bonus plans have leaked before they’ve been announced based on unsecured documents widely available at the firm, it’s not unfair to assume the firm knows exactly what they’re doing.) So, what will those bonuses (likely) entail?

According to tipsters, there’s a bump for the top billers and on the flip side, the band for folks that bill 1950 hours is being eliminated for future bonus cycles. You can read the full memo below.

So, what do you think about the bonuses? Feel free to sound off by email, by text message (646-820-8477), or by tweet (@ATLblog). A fun or insightful response — we’ll keep you anonymous — could find its way into an update to this story.

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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