This Firm Not Only Beats The Cravath Scale, But It’s Also Offering Bonuses!

// Think the Cravath salary scale for associates is generous? Then feast your eyes upon the salary scale that’s being offered by Kaplan Hecker & Fink, a firm that’s been around for less than a decade but consistently punches above its weight when it comes to compensation.

Not only are Kaplan Hecker’s raises higher than Cravath’s, but the firm is also offering mid-year bonuses to associates. These are the first such bonuses to have been announced this year. Will any other firms follow in Kaplan Hecker’s footsteps? We shall see!

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Enough talk, let’s check out what kind of cash the firm is offering to associates:

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Here’s how much more associates at Kaplan Hecker will be making than associates at firms that are following the Cravath scale:

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Class of 2021: $5,000 more
Class of 2020: $10,000 more
Class of 2019: $25,000 more
Class of 2018: $15,000 more
Class of 2017: no difference
Class of 2016: $5,000 more
Class of 2015: $10,000 more
Class of 2014+: $10,000 more

Almost every single class year at the firm will be making more money (sorry, Class of 2017) than associates at other firms, including entry-level and junior associates, who haven’t received any additional compensation since the Milbank scale was released in January.

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On top of all of that, the firm truly embraces humanitarian causes, and as noted in their bonus memo, Kaplan Hecker will be matching any donation up to $2,000 to an aid organization providing support for the people of Ukraine.

New salaries at the firm are effective March 7, and mid-year bonuses will arrive in associates’ bank accounts on June 3. Congratulations!

(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from Kaplan Hecker & Fink.)

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Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. So when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] 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’ll 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.

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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 or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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2022 Associate Salary Increase, Bonuses, Boutique Law Firms, Kaplan Hecker & Fink, Money