After Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced year-end bonuses of up to $115,000 for associates Nov. 22, a handful of law firms quickly chimed in. Since then, however, things have been quiet on the bonus front.
The average starting salary for prosecutors in 31 larger cities was $68,506 at the start of 2020, according to a survey by a Lafayette College professor in conjunction with the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced year-end bonuses of up to $115,000 for associates Monday, topping last year’s year-end bonuses of up to $100,000. Cravath has “reclaimed its throne as BigLaw’s bonus leader” by being the first to announce.
Law firm business leaders are bullish about the future of the legal industry, but they are increasingly concerned about the impact of talent wars on profitability, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Direct expenses at larger law firms increased 7.2% in the last year, mostly driven by a jump in associate compensation, according to the latest Peer Monitor Index report by Thomson Reuters.
A shortage of associates in California’s Bay Area is leading some law firms to turn down work and others to strain available lawyers with the workload, according to a report by the Recorder.
The demand for legal talent in Texas is so strong that some law firms are paying signing bonuses as high as $500,000 to hire the most experienced associates from other firms.
The median starting salary for public defenders is $63,638, according to information supplied by public defender offices in larger cities throughout the United States.
The employment rate for law graduates in the class of 2020 decreased by nearly two percentage points from the prior year, but the news wasn’t all bad, according to figures released Thursday.
Several law firms followed Milbank’s lead when it announced Thursday that it was raising pay for associates for the first-year class and for those with the most experience. Then Davis Polk & Wardwell announced Friday that it was topping the Milbank scale.
