Historically, Biglaw firm Hogan Lovells matches the prevailing market rate when it comes to associate compensation/bonuses. And that makes sense — the firm pulled in $2,682,000,000 in gross revenue making it the eleventh richest firm in the country. So, they seem to have the cash to share with the hardworking associates that make the firm tick. But not this year.
Today the firm announced bonuses and no one there is happy. That’s because the memo announcing year-end bonuses for associates curiously (especially given HoLove’s spot at the top of the rankings) leaves off the special bonuses making their way through Biglaw.
And associates are PISSED. This is just a sampling of the tipsters Above the Law heard from in the immediate aftermath of the announcement.
Hogan Lovells. Didn’t match. Associates are furious, coming off of a record year. No warning, no explanation.
Match but NO special bonuses whatsoever. Associates are not happy
Hogan Lovells is not matching associate bonuses, despite branding themselves as a market compensation firm. Associates are unsurprisingly livid and dismayed. Current reason (pretense…) is that because the firm offers BD bonuses, “super” bonuses based on exceeding billable hour requirements and other discretionary bonuses (which usually max out at $5k), that there’s no need to match the special bonus
No special bonuses at Hogan Lovells and associates are PISSED. Just a few days ago leadership was telling groups that this was a record year for profits (as was last year). All of Hogan’s peers matched and there’s no discernible reason for stiffing associates who meet their (already high) billable targets. Hogan is desperate to have a better reputation but being below market is not the way to do it. (Submitted anonymously).
Yeah, not a great day to be a HoLover.
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] 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 all of 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].
