Biglaw bonuses this year are arriving in two varieties. There are the more standard year-end bonuses, and the special bonuses that actually began this summer with Milbank’s largesse. But at this point, the bonus news going around Biglaw is of these double bonuses.
But not every big firm — even those at the top of the industry — has been quick to give out special bonuses on top of the normal year-end ones. Perkins Coie made $1,211,295,000 in gross revenue last year, landing it in the #43 spot on the Am Law 100. But tipsters at the firm say they haven’t matched those coveted special bonuses.
Perkins Coie quietly didn’t match the market. Memos came out without any firm announcement and there was no special bonus.
Insiders at the firm say the bonus memos came out last week, and they were individualized without a handy schedule of bonuses for easy comparison. But that extra $6,000-$25,000 in special bonus money just wasn’t there. Of course, the firm could always delight with a second, surprise announcement of special bonuses, but no one is counting on it. Tipsters say they’re “disappointed” but not surprised by the firm’s decision. Above the Law reached out to Perkins Coie, and we’ll update this story if the firm has any clarification or statement.
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of compensation updates, so when your firm announces or matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus/Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for your help!
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
