Biglaw Salary Hike: Not All Offices Are Created Equal
Talk about a gut punch, but at least you can't accuse the firm of being opaque about its compensation decisions.
So we know that some folks are bound to be left out in the cold when it comes to the new associate compensation scale. Some firms simply won’t be able to make the move. But after Weil Gotshal & Manges and Milbank Tweed made it clear the raises were for all U.S. associates, there was hope that if a firm matched, it would do it in all of its (U.S.) offices.
That dream has been squashed for associates at one Biglaw firm. Earlier today, the powers that be at Covington & Burling, one of the nation’s 15 most prestigious law firms, sent all associates the email below (don’t worry if you can’t read it, the full text is on the next page). In it they make clear that the attorneys outside of their New York office (like the 500+ lawyers in their D.C. office) are sh!t outta luck when it comes to a payday bump:
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Talk about a gut punch. On the one hand, you can’t accuse the firm of being opaque about its compensation decisions. On the other, it’s called brutal honesty for a reason.
At least the possibility of a raise for New York Covington associates looks pretty good. The firm says, “We are not planning to increase associate salaries in any market outside New York.” While I wouldn’t go on a shopping spree just yet, they seem to imply NY will go to 180. But for the rest of the Covington associates, I’m sorry, that sucks.
(You can read the full text of the firm’s email on the next page.)
Earlier: NY To $180K, The Bad News — Who Won’t Be Matching?
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
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