Associates at Susman Godfrey are having a very good end of 2023.
The Houston-based litigation boutique announced Monday that it is matching Cravath’s annual compensation increases for associates, that it is promoting six associates — two from Houston — to partner and that it will hand out year-end bonuses that are multiple times higher than most corporate law firms.
Susman Godfrey said its first-year firm associates will receive median bonuses of $150,000 and that its most senior associates will be getting an annual bonus of $350,000. Most corporate law firms awarded bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $115,000.
First-year associates will see their annual base salary increase to $225,000 with eighth-year associates being paid $435,000.
Under this scale, the most senior associates will have a total compensation package for 2023 and 2024 exceeding $780,000, which is more than some partners earn at smaller, mid-market firms.
In a public statement, Susman Godfrey co-managing partners Vineet Bhatia and Kalpana Srinivasan said the firm “has long stood by its commitment to share collectively in our good fortunes, and this year, more than ever, we are thrilled we can do that for every single employee in our organization.”
“We are in a truly extraordinary moment in the 40-plus year history of the firm, with our highest-ever revenue and a record number of cases tried over the last year and a half,” Bhatia and Srinivasan wrote in the announcement.
The two Houston-based associates the firm promoted to partner are Hunter Vance and Krisina Zuñiga.