Hey there, recession fans. Time for another round of "Who's Gutting Associate Salaries?" Our latest entrant is Perkins Coie, the Seattle-based firm that opted to make the news as upbeat as possible. According to the tipmeisters at Above The Law, the firm is cutting just under 4 percent of salaries, making it one of the softest hits, and expressing "confidence" that there will be no more layoffs this year. If that's true (and PC doesn't play the stealth layoff game), it's not all that bad a batch of news.
And for those of you who missed the news, NALP wants you to know that associate salaries are not going up.
| Firm | Ca. Associates | Date of Cuts | Salary Cuts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perkins Coie |
49 |
8-05-09 | 3.8% across the board |
| Foley & Lardner |
55 |
7-20-09 | 10% across the board |
| Alston & Bird |
35 |
7-01-09 | $5,000 across the board; said to be temporary |
| Howrey |
56 |
6-22-09 | 1Y to $100K base; 2y: $125K. Training all around. |
| Bryan Cave |
47 |
6-11-09 | 10% cut across the board |
| Pillsbury |
154 |
6-09-09 | "Temporary," productivity-based, said to be 10-20% |
| Sonnenschein |
35 |
5-21-09 | 1Ys to $145K; up to 15% for others; big "performance-based" revamp next year |
| Reed Smith |
103 |
5-20-09 | 10% across the board; incoming at least that (TBD) |
| DLA Piper |
134 |
5-15-09 | 1Y: Down to $145K in top markets. 2y+, case-by-case |
| Seyfarth Shaw | 82 | 5-01-09 | Cuts of 5%-20% to individual associates, others |
| Nixon Peabody | 66 | 4-27-09 | 1Y: $145K; other performance-based cuts of 15%-20% |
| Squire Sanders | 38 | 4-27-09 | All Classes: 10% cut |
| Baker & McKenzie | 70 | 4-20-09 | Reported 10%-25% cuts, not tied to class* |
| Davis Wright Tremaine | 27 | 4-14-09 | All Classes: 5% cut |
| Greenberg Traurig | 66 | 4-13-09 | 1Y: $144K (10% cut) |
| Hogan & Hartson | 31 | 4-02-09 | 1Y: $145K; Reduced "1800 hour track" for all levels |
| Allen Matkins | 100 |
3-31-09 | Incoming & current 1Ys: $145K. Some cuts to 2Y+ (reportedly about 20%) |
We'll continue to update as the cuts come. A few thoughts on the trend, plus caveats and whatnot, after the jump.
We are continuing to round up firms that make salary cuts and have a significant California presence. For the purposes of this chart, having 25 or more associates in the state arbitrarily makes you "significant." Bad news for Davis Wright Tremaine, with 27 junior lawyers in-state, but good news for Mintz Levin: Because they only have 23, we won't even mention their cuts.
In The Recorder's first look, back in spring, at the salary-cut trend, a couple observers said that while California-based firms were more willing to go the heavy layoff route, firms based back east have a different perspective on what constitutes bearable admission of "failure." Maybe that's why they cut pay more than jobs, and so far firms based in California haven't been less hesitant to show people the door.
Note: Associate counts are based on the firms' websites at the time the announcement was made.
* Baker & McKenzie has confirmed "In select instances, we have reduced some salaries," but won't give specifics. Reportedly, cuts ranged from 10% to 25%.
Stay tuned for further updates. Anyone with additional information about the firms on this table, or firms that should be on this table, please add your anonymous tips to the comments below, or send them to our tip line.
— Brian McDonough
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