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Not to be outdone, first-mover Milbank increases…

Lawyer Pay Not to be outdone, first-mover Milbank increases its raises for some associates

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 6, 2023, 11:20 am CST

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Midlevel and senior associates at Milbank are getting more pay than first announced. Image from Shutterstock.

Milbank, the first BigLaw firm to announce associate pay hikes this year, is making some adjustments after BigLaw embraced a more generous pay scale.

Milbank initially planned to pay raises ranging from $225,000 to associates in the class of 2023 to $425,000 for those in the class of 2016, a scale that reflected $10,000 pay raises at every level. Under the new Milbank scale, new associates will still receive $225,000, but those in the class of 2016 will receive $435,000.

Above the Law broke the news, followed by Law.com and Reuters.

Midlevel and senior associates at Milbank are getting more than first announced. Here are Milbank’s initial and revised scales for base pay:

  • Class of 2023: $225,000, both pay scales

  • Class of 2022: $235,000, both pay scales

  • Class of 2021: $260,000, both pay scales

  • Class of 2020: $305,000 initially, $310,000 revised

  • Class of 2019: $355,000 initially, $365,000 revised

  • Class of 2018: $380,000 initially, $390,000 revised

  • Class of 2017: $410,000 initially, $420,000 revised

  • Class of 2016, $425,000 initially, $435,000 revised

Milbank first announced associate pay hikes Nov. 7. BigLaw didn’t follow suit until Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced that it would match the Milbank scale for junior associates and surpass Milbank for more experienced associates. Cravath’s scale stopped at $420,000 for the class of 2017.

Between Cravath’s Nov. 28 announcement and Dec. 6, about three dozen law firms, mostly in BigLaw, have matched or mostly matched the Cravath scale. The major difference is that some firms are paying $435,000 to the class of 2016 and more senior associates.

Above the Law is keeping track of all the announcements at this bonus tracker. Its list includes year-end bonuses, which are on a par with last year’s bonuses. They generally range from a prorated $15,000 for the class of 2023 to $115,000 for the class of 2016.

See also:

“Associate pay hikes gather steam after Cravath announcement; which law firms have matched?”

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