$160K Starting Pay Unlikely to Be Cut by NY Firms, Experts Say
New York law firms are unlikely to cut associate salaries that start at $160,000 absent a move by market leaders such as Sullivan & Cromwell; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Simpson Thacher; and Davis Polk & Wardwell.
The experts aren’t holding their breath. New York firms already reduced associate bonuses after Cravath took the lead in November, the American Lawyer reports. The firm cut year-end bonuses for first-year associates from $35,000 to $17,500 and axed supplemental bonuses starting at $10,000 for second-year associates.
Among the experts expressing doubt about a salary rollback are law firm consultants Peter Zeughauser and Brad Hildebrandt of Hildebrandt International. “New York firms are going to do it last, if they ever do it,” Zeughauser told the American Lawyer. Said Hildebrandt, “I think what some of the New York firms believe is that with the position they hold in the marketplace, it would be counterproductive for them to cut compensation.”
One New York firm, Chadbourne & Parke, has broken from the pack, the story says. It announced last week it is cutting associate and staff salaries for the remainder of 2009, but didn’t reveal by how much. Lawyers may recoup part or all of the pay cut in year-end, discretionary bonuses.
Several law firms based outside the city have already cut salaries, including Nixon Peabody, Squire Sanders & Dempsey, Seyfarth Shaw, and McGuireWoods.
