Biglaw salary scale levels continue to rise for US law firms as they match or exceed the levels set by Cravath Swaine & Moore, the trend-setting ‘Cravath scale’ law firm.
Among the biglaw firms lifting pay rates are McDermott Will & Emery, Paul Hastings, along with others including Paul Weiss, Dechert, Hogan Lovells, Proskauer Rose, Baker McKenzie, and Skadden Arps, have adjusted their pay structures, as reported by Law.com and Above the Law.
The salary adjustments made by the biglaw firms will result in starting salaries for junior associates reaching $225,000, escalating to $420,000 for associates from the 2017 class.
This move comes after Cravath recently raised its salaries, following a similar increase by Milbank earlier in the month. It also adjusted its traditional lockstep remuneration model to introduce a non-equity pay level.
Associates on the Cravath pay scale, including those at Milbank, will now have comparable base salaries. However, associates at the mid-level and senior ranks, specifically from the classes of 2020 to 2017, will earn $5,000 to $10,000 more than their peers at Milbank.
Additionally, Cravath has announced year-end bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $105,000, in line with Milbank’s bonus structure and the standard adopted by major firms over the last two years.
Firms like McDermott, Paul Hastings, and Dechert have also confirmed they will follow this bonus scale.
The legal industry is watching to see if other firms will adopt Cravath’s benchmark or attempt to surpass it to remain competitive in the aggressive recruitment market.
Milbank has frequently been a trendsetter in terms of salaries and bonuses with the pay increases we recently reported in LawFuel, and among top U.S. firms they are seen as pay leaders, initiating salary increases in the past two years, including two raises in quick succession in 2021 to stay competitive.
The big money paid by big firms is a trend that is also affecting the UK legal market with leading City firms are trying to keep pace.
Despite their efforts, UK firms are still behind their U.S. counterparts in terms of pay.
For example, Slaughter and May recently raised its pay for newly qualified lawyers to £115k, matching its Magic Circle peers in the UK, but still falling short of the £170k or more offered by U.S. firms like Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins.
AbovetheLaw reported on Cravath’s new salary scale, as below –
Class of 2023 $225,000 ($10K raise)
Class of 2022 $235,000 ($10K raise)
Class of 2021 $260,000 ($10K raise)
Class of 2020 $310,000 ($5K more than Milbank, $15K total raise)
Class of 2019 $365,000 ($10K more than Milbank, $20K total raise)
Class of 2018 $390,000 ($10K more than Milbank, $20K total raise)
Class of 2017 $420,000 ($10K more than Milbank, $20K total raise)
The post BigLaw Salary Scale Sees Further Lift To Meet Cravaths appeared first on .
