Top 10 Biglaw Firm Spreads The Wealth By Making It Rain On Associates
Raise and bonus news continues to trend across Biglaw. Which elite firm is the latest to make money moves?
Biglaw firms are officially spreading holiday cheer for associates in the form of cold, hard cash. As we’ve noted on our annual compensation scorecard, 26 Am Law 100 firms have already made their raise and bonus announcements, along with several prestigious boutique firms.
By our count, nearly all of the top 10 Biglaw firms by gross revenue have increased associate wages and announced year-end bonuses, save for just a few. We can now add another elite firm to the list.
We’ve confirmed that on Friday, Morgan Lewis — a firm that brought in $2,745,251,000 gross revenue in 2022, putting it at No. 8 in the most recent Am Law 100 — delivered the news of its raises and bonuses via voicemail. The firm is using the Cravath scale for its compensation increases, meaning these are the salaries ML associates will see in 2024:
- Class of 2023 – $225,000
- Class of 2022 – $235,000
- Class of 2021 – $260,000
- Class of 2020 – $310,000
- Class of 2019 – $365,000
- Class of 2018 – $390,000
- Class of 2017 – $420,000
- Class of 2016 – $435,000
Morgan Lewis is also matching the Cravath bonus scale, and this is what year-end bonuses will look like at the firm:
- Class of 2023 – $15,000
- Class of 2022 – $20,000
- Class of 2021 – $30,000
- Class of 2020 – $57,500
- Class of 2019 – $75,000
- Class of 2018 – $90,000
- Class of 2017 – $105,000
- Class of 2016 – $115,000
Congratulations to everyone at Morgan Lewis!
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.
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
