Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be cowboys
Don’t let ’em pick guitars or drive them old trucks,
Let’em be doctors and lawyers and such — Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings
Willie and Waylon had today in mind when they sang the country music classic.
Dallas-founded corporate law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld informed the firm’s several hundred associates this morning that they will be receiving year-end bonuses ranging from $21,000 for first-year lawyers to $140,000 for associates in their eighth year.
Akin became the first Texas legacy corporate firm to announce bonuses. Other law firms are certain to follow.
New York-headquartered Milbank kicked off the associate bonus season more than a month ago. Several large corporate law firms have followed, including five — O’Melveny & Myers, Paul Hastings, Skadden Arps, McDermott and Weil Gotshal — that have offices in Texas.
A Fort Worth energy litigation boutique, Vartabedian Hester & Haynes, announced two weeks ago that it also would match the Milbank bonuses for its associates.
First-year associates, who have an annual base salary of $225,000, will receive a year-end bonus of $15,000 and a special bonus of $6,000, which will be prorated for their time at the firm and based on the lawyers meeting specific performance measurements.
Associates in the hiring class of 2020 can expect a year-end bonus of $75,000 and an additional special bonus of $20,000 to go on top of their $365,000 annual compensation.
Eighth-year associates — those who graduated from law school in 2017 and are up for partnership next year — are receiving a $115,000 year-end bonus and a $25,000 special bonus. When combined with the eighth annual salaries standing at $435,000, total compensation for senior associates will top $575,000.