Milbank pays its associates and legal advisors worldwide bonuses of up to $25,000 based on their length of service, which could lead to another “bonus boost” for employees of large law firms.
According to an internal memo, bonuses for associates will start at $6,000 in the first year and increase with length of service, with payments scheduled to be made by Sept. 30.
As we reported, Milbank initiated the salary increases at major law firms in November 2023, and shortly thereafter, Cravath followed suit, granting raises to the firm’s mid- and senior-level executives, among other things.
Kirkland & Ellis has also made significant salary and bonus payments, further improving the financial position of its employees.
Ongoing wage payments continue to provide higher wages to retain and attract employees.
It seems like employees’ salaries are improving almost every month.
Milbank Chairman Scott Edelman noted in the memo that the first seven months of the year have been very busy for the company and that workloads are expected to remain high throughout the summer and beyond.
In 2021, many U.S. law firms paid out semi-annual or special bonuses amid a spate of mergers and acquisitions and fierce competition for the best talent.
Traditionally, law firms only pay year-end bonuses, but initiatives by large firms often lead other firms to pay them as well. Although the M&A market has cooled in recent years, demand for legal services in corporate transactions is increasing, according to a Thomson Reuters Institute report on law firm performance in the second quarter of 2024.
While transactional firms are experiencing a renaissance, the main reasons for the increased demand for law firms have been countercyclical firms such as litigation and bankruptcy.
Although Milbank is not yet on LawFuel’s Prestige Law Firm List, the firm has been aggressively working on both transactions and recruiting. Last year, Milbank raised associate salaries to $225,000, leading to similar increases across the industry. It is the first major New York-based corporate firm to announce bonuses this summer.
In June, Dallas-based litigation firm McKool Smith (despite its boutique status) moved up to the major bar pay scale, also paying bonuses ranging from $2,500 to $30,000, depending on billing speed.
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