[Petra Pasternak]
It’s pay raise time at Orrick – for all associates but first-years, that is.
Orrick announced in a memo this week that it’s raising salaries for associates who are not entry-level. First-years will continue to make $160,000 in top markets, Orrick’s spokesman David Schaefer said. But second-year associates will be bumped from $160,000 to $170,000 starting in January and third-years will get a $15,000 raise to $185,000. Managing associates next year will be paid between $210,000 and $250,000, and senior associates will top out at $265,000 in base salary, Schaefer said.
Though it’s a bit confusing for those of us who don’t remember the details of Orrick’s new associate comp plan, the latest move in no way represents a return to lock-step, Schaefer said. It’s not our imagination: The firm’s new pay model, launched last year, does retain a lock-step flavor in the early years, Schaefer said. That’s because the firm doesn’t want to judge lawyers too early in their career development, he said. Once a lawyer reaches the “managing associate” level, though, salaries begin to vary more.
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