On Top Of Raises, This Top 10 Biglaw Firm Is The First To Offer Supersized Bonuses To Super-Senior Associates

// Money, money, and more money! Associates, we heard you like money, so we’ve got more Biglaw compensation news!

The latest firm to open its coffers for associates is Ropes & Gray, a firm that brought in $2,718,173,000 gross revenue in 2022, putting it in 10th place in the most recent Am Law 100 ranking. While some firms are leaving their super-senior associates off the compensation grid entirely, Ropes is rewarding them with Cravath-inspired supersized salaries and bonuses.

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These are the salaries associates at the firm will see, as of January 1, 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
• Class of 2015+ – $445,000

This is what year-end bonuses will look like at the firm, to be paid on December 22:

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• Class of 2023 – $15,000 (pro-rated)
• 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
• Class of 2015+ – $130,000

While other firms have included ninth-years and more senior associates their own lockstep salary designations on their compensation grids (i.e., Proskauer ($435K salary, $115K bonus); Sidley ($445K salary, $115K bonus)), Ropes is the very first to offer super-senior associates a higher bonus payout. At $130,000, Ropes is now a bonus leader for Biglaw’s most experienced associates.

The good news at Ropes doesn’t end there. Associates who have annualized creditable hours above the firm’s 1900-hour requirement will receive additional bonus money. This is excellent news for all of the firm’s hardworking associates who logged long hours this year.

Congratulations to everyone at Ropes & Gray!

(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from the firm.)

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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.

And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for your help!

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.

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2023 Associate Salary Increase, Associate Bonus Watch 2023, Biglaw, Bonus News Alerts, Bonuses, Money, Ropes & Gray