Biglaw Chair Explains Why His Firm Hasn’t Increased Associate Salaries Yet

// I think our lawyers know, based on our history, that we not only match but pay above market—that won’t change. At the end of the year, our lawyers will make more than the going market rate.

[C]oming up with multiple announcements just doesn’t make sense from our point of view. Our lawyers know we will match and exceed market. [V]arious firms say it’s X and then Y, we’ll just wait to see where the dust will settle.

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— William Hartnett, chairman of the executive committee at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, commenting on the slowly unfolding 2022 Biglaw and boutique salary wars, and why his firm has yet to announce an increase in associate salaries. “This is a little bit unusual for how long the dust is in the air as opposed to settling,” Harnett noted on the delay in firms matching the new salary scale. How long will the firm wait to make its salary announcement? “We’ll know when we get there,” he said.

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 or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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2022 Associate Salary Increase, Biglaw, Bonus News Alerts, Bonuses, Cahill Gordon, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Money, Quote of the Day