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Akin Gump, Norton Rose Fulbright, Skadden Increase Associate Comp

June 17, 2021 Mark Curriden

Dallas-founded Akin Gump told its associates Wednesday that it is matching the annual pay raises initially implemented last week by Davis Polk and Milbank. Norton Rose Fulbright, which has its largest U.S. presence in Houston, also announced Wednesday that its associates in Texas, New York, California and Washington, D.C., will get the new pay hikes, too.

Houston-headquartered Vinson & Elkins announced Monday that it is boosting compensation of its first-year lawyers from $190,000 to $202,500 starting July 1. Akin Gump, in a letter to associates, said it will go with the same salary scale, which means that eighth-year associates will now make $365,000.

New York-based Skadden Arps, which has a Houston office, also matched the Davis Polk scale.  So did Cravath, which has no offices in Texas but recruits at the University of Texas and represents several Texas companies in M&A matters.

If you add the special bonuses that Akin Gump, V&E and other corporate firms announced earlier this year and the traditional year-end bonuses they receive, senior associates will see their total compensation packages climb above $500,000 in 2021.

Several law firm leaders told The Texas Lawbook Monday that they expect their firms’ partnerships to vote to match the pay hike sometime this week.

The Texas Lawbook will provide additional details as they become available.

Mark Curriden

Mark Curriden is a lawyer/journalist and founder of The Texas Lawbook. In addition, he is a contributing legal correspondent for The Dallas Morning News.

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