As the summer season comes to a close, associates at major law firms are anxiously awaiting the announcement of their summer bonuses. Almost three weeks have passed since Milbank declared special bonuses ranging from $6,000 to $25,000 for associates and counsel. Last year, Cravath, Swaine & Moore took nearly three weeks to follow suit with their salary and bonus announcements after Milbank’s declaration.
While industry observers originally anticipated other firms would quickly match Milbank’s bonuses, delays are expected this year due to many elite partners being either on vacation or tied up in court. According to legal industry recruiters, firms may push their bonus announcements to next week or even later. They suggest firms could take weeks to finalize bonuses as they evaluate their budgets and end-of-year results, with some possibly delaying announcements to incentivize associates.
“If it doesn’t happen this week, that doesn’t mean that it won’t happen at all,” noted one Big Law associate recruiter. For more details, visit the American Lawyer’s article.