Some Major Firms Based in Pa. are Raising 1st-Year Associate Salaries
In another sign of a strengthening legal market, associates at some well-known Pennsylvania-based law firms are getting pay raises.
Starting salaries for Pennsylvania first-years at Reed Smith; Blank Rome; Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young; and Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis have all gone up, the Legal Intelligencer reports in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
The highest reported amount among the new pay increases is at Blank Rome, where first-years were paid $130,000 in 2010 and will get $140,000 in 2011. That compares to a high of $145,000 being paid by Philadelphia market leaders Dechert; Duane Morris; and Morgan Lewis & Bockius, as previously announced.
At Reed Smith, first-years working in its Pittsburgh headquarters will get $125,000, and those in Philadelphia will earn $130,000. Last year, the figures were $110,000 and $117,500, respectively. Although Blank Rome, with six new lawyers, has the same number of starting associates in Pennsylvania as last year, Reed Smith has upped the ante from eight to 11.
Meanwhile, Stradley Ronon went from three first-years in 2010 to seven in 2011 and upped the starting pay ante from $115,000 to $125,000.
Schader Harrison is boosting the starting salary from $95,000 to $105,000 in Pittsburgh and from $110,000 to $120,000 in Philadelphia. It has three first-year associates in Pennsylvania.
Related coverage:
ABA Journal: “Law Job Stagnation May Have Started Before the Recession—And It May Be a Sign of Lasting Change”
ABAJournal.com: “Silicon Valley Law Firms Hire More Associates and Hike Their Salaries”
ABAJournal.com: “Billable Hours Rise and Midlevel Associate Satisfaction Drops”
ABAJournal.com: “Some Corps Cut Costs By Hiring Law Grads to Work In-house Instead of Using BigLaw Associates”
