Billion-Dollar Biglaw Firm Reverses Pay Cuts For Associates
More than surviving, this Biglaw firm is back to thriving.
The Biglaw good news keeps on coming. We are seeing more and more firms that slashed salaries in the early days of COVID-19 do an about face and restoring compensation levels to where they were before the pandemic. The latest firm to do that is Squire Patton Boggs.
Back in May, Squire Patton Boggs announced a 20 percent salary cut for all associates. Staff saw a range of cuts, between 10 and 20 percent, depending on salary. And partner distributions were adjusted to shoulder the largest financial burden.
Effective in October, the salary cuts for all associates will end and their compensation is going back to pre-pandemic levels. For support staff and other non-partners, if their salary was originally less than $75,000, then their compensation will be full restored; for others, their salary cut will be halved. The firm indicated the partnership will continue to shoulder the largest financial burden to meet any future issues, and distributions will be adjusted accordingly.
Squire Patton Boggs is also considering discretionary bonuses for extraordinary performance during COVID-19. But this will not impact the existing end-of-year bonus program.
Chairman/Global CEO of the firm Mark Ruehlmann had the following statement on the rollbacks:
“Thanks to the hard work and shared sacrifice of our attorneys and global staff, the impacts of the global pandemic on our business have been less severe than we reasonably anticipated. While demand for our services has remained strong, we recognize that a fair amount of uncertainty remains in the months ahead. We will monitor circumstances closely to continue to act in the best interests of our clients and the firm.”
If your firm or organization is slashing salaries or restoring previous cuts, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).
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Kathryn 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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