The $415K Associate Salary Scale Continues Its Takeover Of The Biglaw Elite

// If you want to prove to associates that they are well and truly valued — a necessity, given the white-hot lateral market — Biglaw firms know they’re going to have to pony up the top-of-market salary scale set by Cravath this week. Yes, even if they already raised salaries this year. Both the Milbank and Davis Polk scales have been overtaken, and that’s the game Biglaw firms have to play if they want to remain elite.

So, it isn’t surprising that O’Melveny, a firm that took in $835,097,000 in gross revenue in 2020 — making it 54th on the Am Law 100 — has decided to raise salaries again. According to the voicemail associates received last night, O’Melveny is doing a full match of the *new* prevailing market rate as set by Cravath.

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For those who have not yet memorized the scale, this is the new compensation grid at OMM (and a whole bunch of other firms):

Class Year Salary 2014 $415,000 2015 $400,000 2016 $370,000 2017 $345,000 2018 $295,000 2019 $250,000 2020 $225,000 2021 $215,000

Like the last round of raises, these increases are retroactive to January 1.

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*** Wondering if the grass is greener on the in-house side? Click here for a look inside the black box of corporate counsel pay in our 2021 In-House Compensation Report. ***

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Topics

2022 Associate Salary Increase, Biglaw, Bonus News Alerts, Money, O'Melveny & Myers