Cravath to Give Special Spring Bonus to its Associates

After setting the financial benchmark for year-end bonuses in late November, Cravath, Swaine & Moore  confirmed that the firm will also provide special spring bonus to all of its associates. Cravath is the fourth AM LAW 100 firm to join the latest industry trend.  Sullivan & Cromwell, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton have also announced that special bonuses, ranging from $2,500 to $20,000, will be issued to their associates.

However, Cravath has set the bar higher as it revealed that its special bonuses would be significantly higher than the bonuses provided by the other firms announcing spring bonuses. For instance, Cravath’s payments to fourth-year associates are $15,000, an amount that is $5,000 higher than the extra payments to fifth years at the other three firms. Fifth through seventh year associates at Cravath  will receive payments of $20,000 as compared to the other three firms which announced that their fifth, sixth, and seventh-year associates would receive $12,500, $15,000 and $17,500, respectively.  Payments for part-time lawyers will be on a pro-rated basis.