Law Practice Management

Good News: Big Bonuses; Bad News: Salary Freeze, McDermott Announces

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Associates at McDermott Will & Emery got both good news and bad news in recent internal announcements.

First the good news: Associates remaining at the firm after recent layoffs will be getting big bonuses for their work in 2008. The firm describes them as “in many cases exceed[ing] the market,” in an internal memo reported by Above the Law.

And unnamed sources report that the actual bonus amount was indeed surprisingly good news: It averaged $22,266 for first-year associates, with a high of $60,000 or so reported by some fourth-years, the law blog says.

The bad news, however, is that the firm is freezing associate pay at 2008 levels, McDermott announces in another e-mail provided by the law blog, explaining that this will give the firm greater “flexibility.”

The merit-based compensation system at McDermott may reflect the future norm at a growing number of BigLaw firms, as the dismal economy pushes them to eliminate a traditional lockstep compensation system that paid associates in the same law school graduation year at the same level.

Related ABAJournal.com coverage:

Some Law Firms End Lockstep Pay for Associates, as Economy Plummets

McDermott Lays Off 60 Lawyers and 89 Staff Members

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