Law Firms Flaunt Profits with Spring Bonuses, Even as Partnership Remains Elusive
Several large law firms are paying associates spring bonuses, even as partnership is becoming even more difficult to attain.
Law firms “have been tripping over each other” in their zeal for spring bonuses, the Careerist blog observes, citing reports in Above the Law and the Am Law Daily. “I don’t get the logic,” the Careerist says. “Big firms are lavishing associates with fat bonuses again, while, at the same time, signaling that their chances for partnership are worse than ever. Are firms sending associates a garbled message?”
These firms have jumped on the bandwagon, paying spring bonuses of up to $20,000:
• Cravath, Swaine & Moore, where just one associate made partner last year.
• Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which promoted just four associates to partner last year.
• Sullivan & Cromwell, which announced eight new partners in 2010.
• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, which announced seven new partners last November.
A couple experts told the Careerist that the bonuses are intended to send a message that the law firms are doing well. Said recruiter Dan Binstock: “Bonuses are about more than money; it’s about a firm demonstrating its power in the marketplace.”
Prior coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Cravath to Pay Special Spring Bonuses, Above Sullivan & Cromwell Scale at Top End”
ABAJournal.com: “49 Lawyers Make Partner at Nation’s 10 Most Prestigious Law Firms”
