Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has announced that it will be providing its associates with a special fall bonus. These bonuses are in addition to the traditional year-end bonus and mark the first additional bonus handed out to Big Law associates since the bonus spree in 2021.
In an internal email sent by the global co-managing partner, William Burck, to its associates, Quinn Emanuel confirmed the news of the special fall bonus. The bonus calculations involved factors such as seniority and billable hours.
The bonus culture for Big Law associates has generally been quiet throughout the year. The pandemic saw a significant spike in associate bonuses and salaries due to a surge in workflow and a hiring frenzy. However, the momentum of special bonuses decelerated as markets slowed in 2022.
As per Burck’s email, bonus amounts for Quinn Emanuel associates start from $2,120 for the 2023 class that billed between 2,000 and 2,099 hours. They rise to $4,292 for those who billed more than 2,700 hours. For its most senior associates, the firm is offering bonuses between $16,251 to $32,908 contingent on the number of billed hours.
As tradition holds, Big Law firms usually declare year-end bonuses towards the end of November. Last year, annual bonuses ranged from $15,000 to $115,000 for the most senior associates.
As noted by Bloomberg Law, William Burck in his email stressed the firm’s success this year, attributing it to the hard work, commitment and sacrifices made by each of the associates.