It is official, spring bonuses are late. In 2011, Sullivan & Cromwell announced its spring bonuses on January 21. It is now January 24 and we are still anxiously awaiting their spring bonus announcement.

It is still too early to worry about this yet, especially since Cravath took Sullivan’s scale and beat it with its own spring bonuses. It could be safe to say that Sullivan & Cromwell is waiting as long as possible to avoid this from happening a second year in a row.

Spring bonuses are still expected to be issued in 2012 as there are too many law firms out there that pay more than Cravath does when it comes down to bonuses. Susan Webster, one of the partners at Cravath, is probably receiving congratulatory messages from others around Biglaw for her efforts in keeping bonus numbers as low as possible. On the other side of things, there are so many other law firms issuing much higher bonuses that the smart folks hired by Cravath will soon realize that they can make more money working for other firms.

Latham & Watkins is the most recent law firm to make the Cravath bonuses look meager. The median bonus from Latham & Watkins is much more generous than those from Cravath for mid-level and senior associates.

During this year’s bonus season we have seen that other firms are beating Cravath when it comes to those working in senior levels. The scale for the class of 2004 at Cravath ends at $37,500. The scale for those in the class of 2003 at Sullivan & Cromwell ends at $42,500.

The most noticeable levels at law firms where Cravath bonuses are beaten include the senior levels. In this economy, the market tends to say that first and second year attorneys are not worth too much right now. On the other side of things, mid-level associates who survived the layoffs from 2009 are worth extra cash right now.

The scale of median bonuses by class year at the law firm of Latham & Watkins is as follows:

Class of 2010 — $8,000
Class of 2009 — $11,500
Class of 2008 — $21,000
Class of 2007 — $29,000
Class of 2006 — $35,000
Class of 2005 — $42,000
Class of 2004 — $51,000
Class of 2003 — $54,000

• Latham & Watkins Freezes Salaries at 2008 Levels [Update]
• Willkie Farr Announces 2011 Year-End Bonuses
• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Representative Tom Reed Issues Bonuses to Congressional Staff
• Fewer Companies Issued Bonuses in 2011

The law firm of Willkie Farr handed out bonuses to its associates back in December but news of the bonuses is just leaking out now. Willkie Farr is one of the most prominent law firms in New York, so you can bet on what they did for bonuses in 2011.

The firm announced a variant of the Cravath/Sullivan & Cromwell bonus scale. The scale can be defined as the Cleary Gottlieb scale, which is one of the more generous bonus scales of all the main-line law firms out there. The scale offers prorated bonuses for the class of 2011 and a top payment of $42,500 for the senior lawyers at the firm (class of 2003 and up).

Cleary announced its bonuses on December 9, which is when Willkie Farr announced its bonuses to its associates. Since the two announcements came at almost the same time, it is safe to say that Willkie Farr created its bonus scale on its own. As a matter of face, maybe the bonus scale should be referred to as the ‘Cleary/Willkie scale.’

The memo sent out to associates at Willkie Farr can be seen at the bottom of this post.

• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Goodwin Procter Announces 2011 Bonuses and 2012 Base Salaries
• Two More Firms Match Cravath on Bonuses
• Highland Financial Partners Files Lawsuit Against Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
• Latham & Watkins Announces Bonuses

The law firm of Kasowitz Benson has announced that it issued bonuses to its employees recently. The announced within the firm came last Thursday. The firm is focuses on litigation, calling itself a powerhouse, “a national law firm primarily focusing on complex and sophisticated commercial litigation, numbering 375 lawyers.”

The bonus memo issued by Kasowitz announced bonuses for associates working in New York and for special counsel that are ‘up to’ the Cravath bonus scale that was set back in December. The memo notes that numbers on its scale, “are benchmark amounts which are subject to adjustment to reflect individual performance and hours worked.” During the week of January 23, individual bonuses will be communicated by the firm to its employees.

The firm has been doing well of late, expanding and thriving a good amount, so some might find these bonuses disappointing. If you want to look into the ‘up to’ part of the memo, it pretty much means that there are some associates who will make less than the Cravath scale and others who will make no more than the Cravath scale when their bonuses are issued.

The memo also does not mention any spring bonuses for associates at the firm. But, in all fairness, not many other memos from other firms mention spring bonuses either. The majority of those firms did pay spring bonuses in 2011 though and Kasowitz did not. The failure to issue spring bonuses caused some dissention amongst the workers, especially those who left elite firms that pay spring bonuses to join Kasowitz.

• Willkie Farr Announces 2011 Year-End Bonuses
• Goodwin Procter Announces 2011 Bonuses and 2012 Base Salaries
• Representative Tom Reed Issues Bonuses to Congressional Staff
• Fewer Companies Issued Bonuses in 2011
• City Holiday Bonuses Defended by Mayor

Tom Reed, Republican Representative, awarded end of year bonuses to 15 of his 17 congressional staffers ranging from $500 to $2,500. It is up to lawmakers to hand out bonuses to their staffers, and the majority of them do so each year.

On the other side of things, freshman Republican Representative Ann Marie Buerkle, from Onondaga, said that she was not going to issue end of year bonuses to her staffers. Instead, she said she would return the 10 percent remaining budget to the Treasury.

“It’s consistent with us asking the American people to just tighten their belts,” Buerkle said. “I think that’s a good message. At least that’s consistent to what we’re saying about cutting spending.”

Freshman Representative Kathy Hocul (Democrat from Erie County) and veteran Representative Louise Slaughter (Democrat from Fairport) are the other members of the New York congressional delegation who decided not to issue end of year bonuses to their staffers.

Freshman Republican Representative Richard Hanna, from Oneida County, decided to hand out $500 bonuses to each of his staffers.

Chief of Staff Jay Dutcher and Deputy Chief of Staff Vicki Hook, from Reed’s staff, were not issued bonuses because they are Reed’s two highest-paid employees. Dutcher was paid an annual salary $165,000 through the end of September while Hook was on pace to earn $90,000.

“We wanted to do the bonus structure below that level,” Reed said. “The bonuses were based on performance and on individual merit.”

Despite paying out the bonuses, Reed did say that there was still money leftover in the budget that he can return to the Treasury. The exact amount of remaining money will be announced by Reed at a later date.

“It will be a significant amount,” he said.

Part of the office budget for Slaughter will also be returned to the Treasury.

“More often than not, she’s able to return some of her funding back to the Treasury,” Slaughter’s spokeswoman, Victoria Dillon, stated in an email. “As for this year, we know that there will be more expenses before the billing year ends, but as of right now we have $165,000 left and she hopes to return as much of that to the Treasury as she can.”

Members of the House receive budgets each year worth roughly $1.4 million. The value of the budget varies based on factors such as market rates for local office rentals, the distance of a congressional district from Washington, and the number of household mailing addresses within the district.

• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Fewer Companies Issued Bonuses in 2011
• 2011 Year-End Bonuses Thought to Shrink
• City Holiday Bonuses Defended by Mayor
• Bonuses Worth ‘Zero’ Expected in Record Numbers this Year

If your company did not issue bonuses at the end of 2011 then it is part of a growing trend in the United States. Challenger, Gray & Christmas released data from a survey it conducted about year-end bonuses. The data from their survey shows that 43 percent of companies did not issue year-end bonuses or other types of gifts to their employees at the end of 2011. In 2007, prior to the recession, saw 28 percent of companies fail to issue bonuses.

Half of the 53 percent of companies that issued bonuses gave their employees a non-monetary gift or a bonus that was less than $100. Then there were 31 percent of those companies that gave all of their employees bonuses based on the company’s performance. Then, 19 percent of companies issued bonuses to only specific employees based on performance. The bonuses issued by companies in 2011 were very similar to the bonus amounts issued by these companies in 2010.

The study released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas did show that employee morale can be boosted with simple gifts, even if the bonuses cannot be of large value. These bonuses can be as easy as $25 to a restaurant or a paid off day.

• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Representative Tom Reed Issues Bonuses to Congressional Staff
• 2011 Year-End Bonuses Thought to Shrink
• City Holiday Bonuses Defended by Mayor
• Bonuses Worth ‘Zero’ Expected in Record Numbers this Year

Fort Pierce mayor Bob Benton has defended the city when it comes to handing out holiday bonuses to its employees for the previous two years while both St. Lucie County and Port St. Lucie have not, according to TCPalm.

“I don’t mind taking the heat for it one way or the other,” Benton said Wednesday. “We just wanted to say thank you.”

A $100 holiday bonus was recently approved by city commissioners for each city employee, which comes to a total of $35,100. This approval comes during another year of cutbacks for the city that included foreclosures and very high unemployment rates across the country. With the approval of the bonuses, each department within the city will cover the bonuses for its employees. The mayor and the city commissioners also received the bonuses.

The general fund comes from taxpayer money, and it covers the departments of city manager, the city attorney, and the police force. The general fund paid out a total of $27,600 for the bonuses. The departments that are not covered by the fund include those of building, the golf course, and solid waste. These departments paid out $7,500 in bonuses for their employees.

Benton approached city manager David Recor about the bonuses, requesting them for a second consecutive year. Benton also said that he has not received any complaints against the bonuses yet. Benton also said that the $100 bonuses are not a large amount.

Benton did say that city employees have taken furloughs the previous two years, which resulted in the employees taking a pay cut of five percent. This is unlike the workers in St. Lucie County and Port St. Lucie.

“I just feel they worked very hard, and they earned it,” Benton said. “It was a tough year for everyone.”

The city gave its employees gift cards to Publix in the past, but Benton said that money would be of more use for the families of those employees during the holiday season.

Gloria Johnson, the finance director for the city, wrote a letter to the commissioners that stated the following about the bonuses:

“The economic hardships that many of our employees are facing, and that fact that they have had to do more with less. This is a small token to show management’s appreciation and feel that it will help spread some holiday cheer,” she wrote.

According to spokesman Erick Gill of St. Lucie County, the employees there have not received their checks of $50 since 2009.

“Because (county commissioners) had to reduce staff, consolidate departments and make other tough decisions regarding the reduction of services because of the decrease in property values, which (led) to a loss of revenue for the county,” wrote Gill via email on Wednesday, “it didn’t make sense to continue offering holiday bonuses.”

• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Representative Tom Reed Issues Bonuses to Congressional Staff
• Fewer Companies Issued Bonuses in 2011
• Bonuses Worth ‘Zero’ Expected in Record Numbers this Year
• Cahill Announces Bonuses

John Duncan III, the Trustee for Knox County, awarded himself and six other employees each a $3,000 education bonus after being in office for only three months. The majority of those who received the bonuses are tied to a program that says money should only go to those who have a designation of certified public administrator. None of those who received the bonuses had that certification.

Close to one year later, Duncan awarded himself and 11 other employees, most of whom are the highest paid, the same exact bonuses. Four of the 11 workers were certified this time. According to the administrators of the program, the trustee is not certified. Duncan III is the son of U.S. Representative John J. Duncan Jr.

“I feel like if they show reasonable diligence in pursuing the program, then they should be rewarded for it,” said Duncan, who earns almost $107,000 a year in salary, according to knoxnews.com. “I have no problem at all rewarding people who are taking initiative and trying to improve their knowledge of the county and better serve the taxpayer.”

Duncan paid workers $36,000 in 2011 and $21,000 in 2012 with the training program costing taxpayers $6,300.

In order to acquire the certification, workers for the county have to complete the County Officials Certificate Training Program. This is administered by the University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Services (CTAS). The program was created 20 years ago for elected officials, even though any employee of the county can take part in it.

Candidates within the program have to earn 60 hours of training and then pass a series of open book tests followed by an exit exam. For officials to remain certified, they must complete 16 hours of training each year. Elected officials have to take an additional two hours of ethics training.

There is a one-time assessment fee of $300 and a $300 fee to attend a ‘capstone’ event, which is a three-day session that was offered last April. Every four years there is a $300 re-certification fee.

“The classes are about all of county government, anything from the history or how a legislative body works, elections and government in Tennessee in general,” said CTAS Executive Director Mike Garland, who also said that online courses are available. “It’s kind of like getting a college education, but on a smaller scale of course. When people come into office, many have never served, so we give them the fundamentals of operating the office and how to better serve the public.”

Garland then responded to a question about officials receiving county dollars before acquiring their certification: “I’m not aware of any county that pays prior to receiving the designation.” He also said that those payments would violate the spirit of the program.

In Knox County, 34 officials have received the certification, with 820 county officials receiving the certification across the state.

• Latham & Watkins Announces Bonuses
• Willkie Farr Announces 2011 Year-End Bonuses
• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Georgia Municipalities and Counties Issue Bonuses
• Representative Tom Reed Issues Bonuses to Congressional Staff

More banks are running the risk of legal claims this year than ever before because they are going to be handing out bonuses that are equal to the number zero. The law firm of GQ Employment Law claims that even though banks are within their operating rights not to pay bonuses to City workers. In previous years, banks have made commercial decisions, paying bonuses out to mediocre staffers mostly in an effort to avoid legal problems.

What determines whether a bank’s decision to withhold a bonus is a breach of contract depends on whether the decision was irrational. It also depends on other banks coming to the same decision regarding bonuses.

Lawyers are pointing to the European financial crisis and a mucky economic outlook for reasons why bank employees are finding it more difficult to succeed in claiming whether or not a bonus is too low. They are also finding it more difficult to prove that their employer acted irrationally.

Ronnie Fox, an employment lawyer from Fox solicitors, said that he does not expect many lawsuits regarding bonuses popping up this year.

“Unless a bonus has been promised and there is a breach of that promise, bonuses are discretionary and in order to bring any claim the employee has to prove the bank acted irrationally or perversely,” he said.

“It is hard for someone who is not getting a bonus to bring any sort of claim especially if the underlying business has not performed well,” he said, according to FT.com.

A partner at the GQ Employment Law Firm, Paul Quain, had the following to say:

“This year the banks’ legal case will be more watertight than ever due to market conditions and the fact that even the Bank of England has advised banks to preserve their capital by not paying out bonuses.”

Quain also said that in the current economic climate, bankers will be more reluctant to file lawsuits related to bonuses.

“Banks were scared if they did not pay bonuses they would lose key staff but that attitude is now changing,” he added. “Banks have to be very careful when dividing their bonus pools not to spark discrimination claims. They have to have a clear rationale as to why each team member got their level of bonus. If the split even looks like it is based on gender or age, for example, the bank could have to explain its rationale in front of an employment tribunal in a dispute.”

A partner from Winckworth Sherwood, Jo Keddie, said that she has discovered a trend in 2011 involving financial institutions that are getting rid of their senior employees in the months of November and December. By removing the senior employees now, they become ineligible for bonuses that are usually paid out in the spring.

“We have seen a number of senior and middle managers let go in the last three months and I predict we will see more in January and February before bonuses are due,” she said.

• Bonus Memo Released for Kasowitz Benson
• Representative Tom Reed Issues Bonuses to Congressional Staff
• Fewer Companies Issued Bonuses in 2011
• City Holiday Bonuses Defended by Mayor
• Cahill Announces Bonuses

In 2010, the law firm of Cravath Swaine & Moore low-balled the market for bonuses, which was then steamrolled by the firm of Cahill Gordon. The low bonus scale set by Cravath last year was matched by the firm this year for the most part. Cahill is beating the scale set by Cravath again this year, but they are going one step further with their bonuses.

In 2011, Cahill is issuing a special bonus payment to its employees in their next paycheck. This bonus payment is coming before the company even hands out its year-end bonuses, which Cahill agrees Cravath has set at a low mark, simply by handing out bonuses much higher than the Cravath scale.

So now you must be wondering how special these early bonuses are?

The early bonuses are so special that Cahill is handing out $10,000 to every associate in each class year with their December 15 paycheck. Talk about having a Happy Holiday. This bonus in the December 15 paycheck will be in addition to the year-end bonus handed out by Cahill before December is complete. Experts believe that the year-end bonuses from Cahill will be just as good, if not better than, the Cravath bonuses. The associates at Cahill should consider the December 15 bonus as a down payment for the total bonus coming in two weeks.

Cahill did not send out memos to its associates about the bonuses. Instead, the firm called its partners to tell them of the news yesterday, according to Above the Law.

Experts believe that Cahill associates will be receiving year-end bonuses that beat the scale set by Cravath to go on top of the $10,000 they are receiving in their December 15 paychecks. Some of the Cahill associates received bonuses that totaled $35,000 more than the Cravath bonus for relevant class year in 2010. Representing the floor for Cahill associates is the Cravath scale plus the $10,000 the associates are receiving in their paychecks on December 15. There is no definite answer as to the Cahill scale but the bonuses could always get better.

In the bonus market of 2010, the majority of Cahill associates fared better than their colleagues at Cravath because of their spring bonuses. Cahill also pays its associates a mid-year bonus, with the last one being paid in June, ranging from $5,000-$25,000. As you can imagine, associates at Cahill are unbelievably happy right now. Here is the money Cahill associates are expected to pull down in 2011:

Associates will be receiving $10,000 now, a Cravath-like bonus at the end of the year. They also received $20,000 in June if they were hired in 2006. The year-end bonus should be around $25,000, which means an associated hired in 2006 will have pulled down $55,000 this year, which seems like a pretty good year.

• Two More Law Firms Jump on Cravath Bonus Bandwagon
• Morning Roundup
• Milbank Falls In Line On Bonuses
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun

Two more law firms have announced that they will be handing out $42,500 year-end bonuses to their eighth-year associates and above before 2011 comes to an end. According to Law360, the two new firms are Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP. The two firms are matching the scale set forth by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP.

Davis Polk and Paul Weiss will be matching the new scale that was established last week by the law firms of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP. All of these firms announced last week that they would be handing out bonuses of $42,500 to their associates who were hired in 2003 or earlier.

The remainder of the pay scale falls in line with the scale set by Cravath, which announced its year-end bonuses last month. The firms will issue bonuses of $7,500 for first-year associates to $37,500 for seventh-year lawyers. Associates hired in 2004 represent the most-senior level associates at the firm of Cravath.

The law firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP announced that it would match the scale set by Cravath but will not match the extended scale. The eight-year associates at Weil will receive bonuses of $37,500. Weil will pay its bonuses on December 23 and made the following statement in a memo sent to employees on December 8:

“On behalf of all Weil partners, we thank you for your hard work and dedication over the past year.”
The Cravath scale will be matched by the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP for just the first-year and second-year associates. The bonuses handed out to the firm’s most-senior level associates will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Ever since the bonus scale was released by Cravath last month, the list of law firms matching the scale has increased steadily.

Last week, the law firm of Kaye Scholer LLP announced its bonuses, which will be given to those associates who work at least 1,950 hours per year. Associates who work at least 2,400 hours per year will be receiving a bonus of $57,500.

Shearman & Sterling LLP announced that bonuses will be handed out by the firm that will match the Cravath scale. This firm’s announcement occurred only one day after Proskauer Rose LLP announced its bonus plans for 2011.
The 2011 bonus scale announced by Cravath closely matches the bonuses issued by the firm to its employees in 2010. The only exception was that seventh-year associates in 2010 were given bonuses of $35,000. Cravath is the leader in handing out bonuses, as the firm issued spring bonuses in 2011, giving $20,000 to associates hired from 2004 to 2006, $15,000 to associates hired in 2007, and $2,500-$10,000 to associates hired later.

• Cahill Announces Bonuses
• Morning Roundup
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• More Bonuses
• Skadden Bonuses Match Cravath and Cleary

Shearman & Sterling LLP is slated to sustain a precedent set by fellow law firm Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP. Like Cravath Swaine & Moore, Shearman & Sterling plans to reward associates—from seventh-year on—with year-end bonuses of $37,500, according to Law360.com.

Ron Brandsdorfer, Shearman & Sterling spokesman, confirmed its bonus plans Tuesday. Apparently, newer associates won’t be shortchanged.

First-year associates will receive $7,500; second-year associates are slated to get $10,000; third-year associates will receive $15,000; fourth-year associates will get $20,000; fifth year associates will get $25,000; and sixth-year associates are expected to receive $30,000.

Abovethelaw.com reports the bonuses will be paid on Jan. 13, according to some of its readers.

New York-based Shearman & Sterling first- and second-year associates earn, on average, between $160,000 and $168,000 a year, according to glassdoor.com. The website notes that salaries are posted anonymously by both employees and employers.

Cravath Swaine & Moore should expect their bonus on Dec. 9, according to a firm memo. That memo was featured on WSJ’s Law Blog. In order to be eligible, associates must have been with the firm before Sept. 1 and still with Cravath Swaine & Moore when bonuses are distributed.

Billable hours don’t impact eligibility. Part-time associates will receive pro-rated bonuses. Bonus eligibility of senior attorneys, specialist attorneys, discovery specialist attorneys and foreign associate attorneys will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Cravath Swaine & Moore’s bonus schedule is eerily similar to Shearman & Sterling’s. Bonuses top out at $37,500. First-year associates receive $7,500; second-year associates receive $10,000; third-year associates get $15,000; fourth-year associates receive $20,000; fifth-year associates receive $25,000; and sixth-year associates get $30,000.

A first-year associate earns, on average, $160,000 per year, while a second-year associate earns between $150,000 and $170,000 a year, according to glassdoor.com. A third-year associate earns an average of $179,000 to $191,000, while a fifth-year associate earns, on average, about $195,000.

Unlike their American counterparts, Canadian lawyers at major firms won’t see big bonuses, Legal Post reports. Bonuses in 2010 are unlikely to match bonus this year. With that said, first-year associates are seeing their salaries increase.

The Robert Half Legal 2012 Salary Guide believes those increases won’t be high for first-year associates. They’re expected to rise only 0.4 percent in 2012 to a range between $82,000 and $89,500 at large law firms, defined as having more than 75 lawyers.

“The large firms were extremely busy at this time last year — as busy as they have been at year’s end for quite a long time  — so they went into 2011 with a fair bit of confidence regarding hiring patterns and compensation,” says Dal Bhathal, managing director, Eastern Canada for The Counsel Network, a legal recruitment firm.

Associates with one to three years’ experience could see their salaries rise 1.3 percent—ranging from $87,000 and $119,500.

More experienced lawyers can anticipate bigger salary bumps. Lawyers with four to 12 years’ experience could see their salaries rise about 3 percent, ranging between $87,000 and $119,500, also according to Financial Post.

• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Bonus Season has Begun!
• Latham & Watkins Announces Bonuses

Former Texas solicitor general Gregory Coleman died in a plane crash…

Milbank will pay associate bonuses on what is rapidly becoming known as the Cravath scale…

Skadden matched the associate bonus scale announced earlier this week by Cravath…

• Milbank Falls In Line On Bonuses
• Morning Roundup
• Skadden Follows Cravath’s Lead for Bonuses
• Former Texas Solicitor General Dies in Plane Crash
• Bonus Season has Begun

First year associates will receive a bonus of $7,500 and seventh years will get $35,000.  For most classes, these bonuses are exactly the same as last year’s, with only seventh year associates getting bumped up from $30,000.

But it’s still early and most firms have yet to announce their year end bonuses.  Maybe they’ll surprise us.

• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Two More Firms Match Cravath on Bonuses
• Cahill Announces Bonuses

The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea set the stage for China to make a distinctive mark on the world stage…

The law firm bonus season began…

Crowell & Moring LLP & the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law established the Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk youth…

• Crowell & Moring LLP & University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law Establish Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk Youth
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• Wilmer Hale Announces a Plan for Leadership Succession

We can only hope that Cravath isn’t as influential at setting the market rate this year.  Cravath will be paying bonuses that look identical to Sullivan’s 2009 scale – that is to say, no different from their own 2009 bonuses unless you are a 7th year associate.  First year associates will receive $7,500, senior associates will get $35,000 and everyone else falls somewhere in between.  AM Law has the full bonus scale and a copy of the firm’s memo here.

Obviously 2009 was a difficult year for the legal industry, as it was for the rest of the economy, but most signs indicate that 2010 was a vast improvement.  We had hoped to see that reflected in bonuses for the year.  It’s possible that other firms will buck the Cravath scale, even though very few did last year, but according my magic 8-ball the outcome is doubtful.  Skadden has already followed with an identical bonus schedule.

• Morning Roundup
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• Boies Schiller Leads the Bonus Race
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• Two More Firms Match Cravath on Bonuses

A firm spokesperson told LegalWeek that while billable hours will remain part of the criteria, “bonus allocations will be discretionary. There will be no fixed correlation between hours and bonuses. Most importantly, there will be no hours’ target.”

The policy change is limited to Clifford Chance’s London office.

According to the report, bonus decisions will now include an array of other factors, including “overall achievement, effort, business and technical skills, client satisfaction, teamwork and community work.”

In addition to how the bonuses are doled out, Clifford Chance has also altered its bonus levels. The maximum bonus payment of 40 percent of base salary, which was previously eligible to associates with at least four years “post-qualification experience,” will now be limited to senior associates.

Clifford Chance is global London based firm with 29 offices in 20 countries and 3,600 legal advisers.

• O’Melveny & Myers Announces Associate Bonuses
• Linklaters Paying Spring Bonus to US Associates
• Clifford Chance Expands into Australia
• Morning Roundup
• Milbank Falls In Line On Bonuses

The Asian Pacific American Legal Center files a lawsuit against Trinity Law Associates for allegedly defrauding 30 Korean immigrants…

King & Spaulding reveals a new pay scale and bonuses…

Former U.S. Senators Lott and Breaux are in talks with Patton Boggs…

Snell & Wilmer opens a sports agency…

The Obama administration nominates two federal judges…

The Zeughauser Group reports that BigLaw hasn’t fared as badly as predicted…

Quinn Emanuel changes their name…

Howrey is cutting partners after a tough 2009…

White & Case promotes five to partner…

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In the new pay scale associate salaries are updated from September 1. At that time King & Spaulding cut annual salaries by $10,000 to $23,000. The new pay scale restores some associate salaries to their prior levels and lessens the pay cuts for others depending upon associate class year.

Founded in 1885, King & Spaulding is an Atlanta based firm with approximately 880 attorneys and 14 offices globally.

• Morning Roundup
• Clifford Chance Alters Associate Bonus Policy
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• Freshfields Unfreezes Associate Lockstep; Unveils 2010 Rates
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Tycko & Zavareei filed a class action suit against Fifth Third Bank…

Pillsbury gave raises (sort of) and bonuses…

Gardere Wynne added four attorneys to their roster…

Morrison & Foerster hired Joe Calve as their Chief Marketing Officer…

Danna McKitrick attorney Ruth Binger was named a Top Small Business Lawyer by the St. Louis Small Business Monthly…

Revenues and profits were up at Bingham McCutchen…

Thor Hearne, a former national election counsel in the Bush administration, joined Arent Fox…

Littler Mendelson welcomed 4 new shareholders to the firm…

Neil Upton joined Greenberg Traurig to head its UK Energy Practice…

The former director of Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality joined Foley & Lardner…

Mintz Levin gave incoming associates the option to defer their starting employment date…

Alston & Bird hired a contractor to explore the construction of a new office building…

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UPDATE: We’ve received tips saying that only New York associates are getting the salary boost. If you have any hard information on the state of V&E associate salaries outside of New York, send us a tip here.

The firm is also handing out Cravath scale bonuses. What is missing is any kind of “make whole” bonus, to restore the money associates missed out on by having their salaries frozen to begin with.

Vinson & Elkins LLP is an international law firm with more than 770 lawyers across 14 offices worldwide, including 19 lawyers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The firm was founded in Houston, Texas, in 1917 by James Elkins and WIlliam Vinson.

• Raises (sort of) and Bonuses at Pillsbury
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Goodwin Procter Pays Bonuses, Thaws Salaries
• Sidley Austin Salary Thaw and Double Raise
• Mayer Brown Raises Salaries Back to Pre-Recession Levels

Starting from the small stuff and working our way up to the good stuff, Chadbourne & Parke is paying a bonus on what appears to be the Cravath scale. But wait, that’s not all! In November the firm indicated that they would be giving associates back the money they lost from April’s salary cutssometime in January. Well that sometime has come and on top of their bonus check all associates in good standing will be paid the difference between their salaries post cut and what they would have made under the old salary. Still not impressed? The pay cut has been rescinded. Salaries have been thawed out. Not good enough? Still want more? All associates are getting a double bump in level, being restored to the pay grade and dollar amount they would have been making had the recession never hit.

Congrats, C&P associates. Try not to rub it in your friends’ faces too much.

• Bonuses and Thaws at Wilson Sonsini
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Goodwin Procter Pays Bonuses, Thaws Salaries
• Partial Salary Thaw at Fulbright
• Morning Roundup

In addition to salary raises, Hughes Hubbard associates are getting their 2009 bonuses. Those that made their billing target of 1950 hours will get a bonus on the Cravath scale. However, there are above market bonuses being paid out to associates that hit 2100, 2300 or 2500 hours last year.

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, an international law firm based in New York, is ranked number one in New York and number two nationally on The American Lawyer’s A-List of the “top firms among the nation’s legal elite.” AmLaw also ranked the firm #4 in “Top Growth Firms” among the nation’s 200 largest firms over the last 10 years.

• Salary Thaw at Akin Gump
• Stroock Pays Bonuses, Lifts Salary Freeze
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Vinson & Elkins Issues Bonuses and Raises

The firm also told its associates that it was abandoning lockstep compensation, maybe. But not this year. Although the firm has (apparently) hated lockstep for years, this year it will study the issue holistically. In the mean time one thing is for certain, Goodwin Procter is thawing out salaries. It’s not a true up – associates are only being bumped up one year, but it’s a far cry better than the firms using merit based compensation to mask a pay cut.

Goodwin Procter LLP employs 900 attorneys in Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, Silicon Valley, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

• Vinson & Elkins Issues Bonuses and Raises
• Chadbourne & Parke Does Right by its Associates
• Bonuses and Thaws at Wilson Sonsini
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Salary Thaw and Bonuses at Hogan & Hartson

In order to qualify for the 2009 bonus, associates must have billed 2200 hours (for $20k) and 2400 hours (for $40k), but the interesting kicker is that all classes are receiving the same bonus, providing they hit the targeted number of hours. For junior associates that made the goal, this is an above market bonus, although it’s a bit light for senior associates in the 2200 hour category.

Kaye Scholer was founded in 1917 by Benjamin Kaye and Jacob Scholer. The firm has more than 500 attorneys in eight offices located in New York, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Washington DC, and West Palm Beach.

• Seyfarth Shaw Abandons Lockstep
• Raises (sort of) and Bonuses at Pillsbury
• Vinson & Elkins Issues Bonuses and Raises
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Cooley Godward Salary Thaw, and is there a Market Rate Anymore?

Salaries for 2010 have not yet been set and for the moment all associates are being paid at 2009 levels. When compensation levels are set, any raises will be made retroactive to January 1. In addition, 2009 bonuses will be paid at the end of this month.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is an international law firm with offices located throughout the US and globally, including key financial centers New York, London, Tokyo and Shanghai.

• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Dechert Pays Bonuses, Cuts (a few) Salaries
• Weil Gotshal Bonuses

Rose Walker has two new attorneys…

The prop 8 trial in California will be broadcast via youtube….

Gibson Dunn received an award for best litigation firm…

Archer & Greiner picked up a former D.A.…

More law firm mergers are expected this year after a slow 2009….

The 9th Circuit has overturned a felon disenfranchisement law in Washington…

Rogers & Hardin promoted a new partner…

and Irell & Manella associates are receiving above market bonuses…

• Weekend Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup

Irell & Manella LLP was founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell and Arthur Manella, and has grown to 220 lawyers. It has offices in Century City and Newport Beach.

• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Dechert Pays Bonuses, Cuts (a few) Salaries
• Chadbourne & Parke Does Right by its Associates

A federal judge has upheld most of a new law regulating tobacco companies and advertising…

Raymond Mullady has moved from Orrick to Blank Rome…

Blank Rome in turn has lost four IP lawyers to Sterne Kessler…

Dechert announced its bonuses and 2010 compensation….

and there’s new leadership in Skadden’s Chicago office…

• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup

Dechert is paying year end bonuses that should, by now, look familiar to those following the industry. Like many of its contemporaries, the firm is matching the Cravath bonus scale, although it says that a few exceptional individual will receive bonuses up to $25k larger than the standard grid. In addition, it will continue to advance its associates forward in terms of base salary.

Most associates, that is. In Charlotte and Hartford, Dechert has decided to return to 2007 compensation levels for the 18 associates in those offices. This is more than a salary freeze, it’s an out and out pay cut.

Dechert is an international law firm based in Philadelphia with 18 offices and over 1000 attorneys.

• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Salary Cut at Pillsbury Winthrop
• Irell & Manella Doubles Market Rate on Bonuses

Kramer Levin

Founded in 1968, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP is a law firm with offices in New York City and Paris.

• Quinn Emanuel Bonuses
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Irell & Manella Doubles Market Rate on Bonuses

Kirkland & Ellis paid out bonuses…

Newly released records detail Rothstein’s non profit activities…

Cravath confirmed that no new partners will be named this year…

A dozen lawyers have left Dickstein Shapiro….

A federal appelate court has upheld a large judgement against Microsoft….

and Weil Gotshal’s bonuses are out…

• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup
• Morning Roundup

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. It is one of the largest and most highly regarded law firms in the world, with approximately 1,300 lawyers and gross annual revenue in excess of $1.7 billion.

• More Bonuses
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Salary Cut at Pillsbury Winthrop
• Kelley Drye Trifecta – Abandon Lockstep, Freeze Salaries, Pay Bonuses

Bonuses are being paid by class depending on the number of hours billed. To qualify for the smallest bonus, an associate needs to have 2000 hours. At 2100 hours, associates hit the Cravath bonus scale, but it doesn’t stop there. Bonus go up again at 2400 hours, 2600 hours, and those that managed to bill 2800+ hours will get an even bigger bump. In this economy? Did anyone actually find 2800 billable hours? Presumably, the firm wouldn’t offer bonuses for that level without having some earners, so congratulations to any Quinn Emanuel associate earning the top chart bonuses – now take a day off!

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP was founded in 1986 by John B. Quinn. It is headquartered in Los Angeles, with major offices in San Francisco, the Silicon Valley, and New York.

• Kramer Levin Matches Cravath Bonuses
• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Bonuses and Thaws at Wilson Sonsini
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses

Wachtel Lipton has a little over 200 attorneys practicing in New York City. Founded in 1965, it is frequently among the top firms for profit per partner.

• Morning Roundup
• Bonus Season has Begun
• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Salary Cut at Pillsbury Winthrop
• Irell & Manella Doubles Market Rate on Bonuses

Today Hogan & Hartson passed out three nice bits of news. First, salaries are being unfrozen and all associates will advance one year in 2010, although the frozen year will not be restored. Second, anyone that was bumped down a track who meets the billable hour requirement for the upper track will receive the difference in a lump sum payment. They will also be returned to the higher track, even if they didn’t meet the hourly total for this year. Finally, bonuses have been announced. The bonuses are discretionary and require that the associate meet a billable hour target. Non billable hours above and beyond the call of duty may be credited to meet the total at the firm’s discretion.

• Hughes Hubbard Thaws Salaries, Issues Bonuses
• Salary Thaw and Bonuses at Arnold & Porter
• Chadbourne & Parke Does Right by its Associates
• Goodwin Procter Pays Bonuses, Thaws Salaries
• Partial Salary Thaw at Fulbright