Big Law associates are burned out after a year of rapid-fire deals and intense hours. Special $60,000-plus bonuses may not be enough to keep them.

1. 5/4/21, 12:06 AM
Big Law Associates Are Burning Out, Sparking a Wave of Special Bonuses
Page 1 of 6
https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-associates-burnout-bonuses-hours-retention-recruiting-lateral-hires-2021-3
Big Law associates are burned out
after a year of rapid-fire deals and
intense hours. Special $60,000-
plus bonuses may not be enough to
keep them.
Some Big Law firms are paying associates special spring-and-fall
bonuses.
The rewards range from $12,000 for first-years to $64,000 for senior
associates.
Junior lawyers say the extra cash is nice but worry about burnout and
would prefer less work.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
From M&A deals to IPOs to bankruptcy proceedings, Big Law associates
are busier than ever.
For some, their jobs advising financial firms and corporations just got a lot
more lucrative. At least 25 Big Law firms are awarding special bonuses up
to $64,000 to high-performing associates in 2021.
But many of these bonuses aren't just a straightforward reward for all the
hard work that's already been done. Some are being announced months
before they hit bank accounts, which is unusual by industry standards.
Recruiters and other industry experts say the payouts are an effort to keep
burned-out associates from leaving after a grueling year of high-volume
remote work. And some associates Insider spoke to said that, while the
money is nice, what they'd really like is to see the workload lighten.
Long hours aren't new for the field. Big Law associates, who range from

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Big Law Associates Are Burning Out, Sparking a Wave of Special Bonuses
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https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-associates-burnout-bonuses-hours-retention-recruiting-lateral-hires-2021-3
mid-20-year-olds fresh out of law school to senior associates in their 30s
with years of practice under their belts, can expect to work 60-70 hours
per week in normal times, including late nights and weekends. While more
junior lawyers spend their time drafting documents and learning on the
job, older associates are expected to find clients and take the lead on
some engagements. After about a decade of hard work and meeting
billable-hour requirements, some lucky associates succeed in their quest
to make partner, which can mean sharing in the firm's profits.
Still, this year has been different for the notoriously old-fashioned
industry, with lawyers tackling a wave of restructurings, an onslaught of
SPAC work, and an uptick in work in other areas all while working from
home. While firms are looking to make lateral hires to help relieve the
pressure, they're also scrambling to hold onto talent they already have.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher kicked off the bonus bonanza on March 19 when it
announced rounds of special bonuses for associates in good standing,
according to a firmwide memo published by legal blog Above The Law.
Davis Polk followed the news by announcing even larger bonuses, paid out
in two installments. More than two dozen other Big Law firms, including
Willkie, quickly matched Davis Polk's offer, according to memos published
online and confirmed by law firms to Insider.
Kirkland & Ellis, the world's top-earning law firm, is paying senior
associates slightly smaller bonuses than peer firms — up to $59,200 —
and is reserving its $64,000 checks for nonequity partners, according to a
memo published by Above the Law.
Associates are 'absolutely crushed' by their
workloads
Wall Street has been incredibly busy in recent months thanks to a high
volume of deal work, and many in the junior ranks are on the brink of
burnout. Investment banking analysts at Goldman Sachs created a pitch

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Big Law Associates Are Burning Out, Sparking a Wave of Special Bonuses
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https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-associates-burnout-bonuses-hours-retention-recruiting-lateral-hires-2021-3
deck outlining their dissatisfaction with working conditions, and Apollo
Global Management is paying some associates special retention bonuses
to hang onto talent.
Big Law associates are also feeling the strain after a particularly busy year.
One associate in his firm's corporate practice group told Insider that 100-
hour weeks have recently become the new normal.
"It seems that across the board, people in the mid-level — third years to
seventh years — are absolutely crushed," said another associate, who
asked to remain anonymous because she wasn't authorized to speak on
the record. She said the bonuses felt like an effort to keep junior lawyers
from leaving for competing law firms.
Another associate at a Silicon Valley law firm said recruiters call his peers
often to talk about a move. But he added that his own firm is trying to
poach associates to relieve the strain its junior lawyers are feeling:
"They're definitely in need of help," said the associate, who also asked to
remain anonymous. "And I think our partners also say that — help is on the
way. We're recruiting."
Big Law firms are trying to keep junior lawyers
happy
Associates at Big Law firms typically make from $190,000 to $340,000 a
year, with a year-end bonus of $15,000 to $100,000, depending on
seniority.
Additional spring or summer bonuses aren't unprecedented — Cahill
Gordon & Reindel has issued midyear bonuses before, and Quinn Emanuel
Urquhart & Sullivan has also reportedly cut checks to associates in recent
years — but announcing payments months ahead of time is unusual.
"What's different about these, which is kind of clever, is how they've

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Big Law Associates Are Burning Out, Sparking a Wave of Special Bonuses
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https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-associates-burnout-bonuses-hours-retention-recruiting-lateral-hires-2021-3
basically spaced out the payments, which is a very smart way of getting
people to stick around during a time when laterals are so highly coveted,"
said David Lat, a legal journalist-turned-headhunter. "I've had candidates
who were like, 'let's go, I'm ready to move,' who are like, 'can we talk in
2022?'"
In announcing the bonus payments, law firms said they wanted to reward
associates for their hard work. But most firms won't be paying associates
their full bonuses until the second half of the year.
Legal insiders say the two-payment bonus system is an important
retention tool for associates who might otherwise be looking for other
opportunities.
"Bonus are a short-term Band-Aid in terms of retention, and they will be
more effective at keeping people than doing nothing," Bruce MacEwen, a
consultant at Adam Smith, Esq., said in an email. He expects the firms
paying out bonuses will have lower attrition rates, at least for the duration
of the payments.
Joshua Holt, a former Goodwin Procter attorney who now runs the finance
website Biglaw Investor, put it this way: if an associate sticks around for
the spring bonus, they might as well stick around for the fall bonus. And if
they stay for the fall bonus, they might as well stick around for the end-of-
year-one.
It's unclear whether the special bonuses will
work
A combination of slowed hiring and increased work spread law firms thin
last year, particularly in the M&A space, according to Ru Bhatt, a Major,
Lindsey & Africa recruiter who places associates. Law firms are actively
searching for young M&A and capital markets talent, but many are
struggling to keep existing associates happy in the meantime.

5. 5/4/21, 12:06 AM
Big Law Associates Are Burning Out, Sparking a Wave of Special Bonuses
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https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-associates-burnout-bonuses-hours-retention-recruiting-lateral-hires-2021-3
Bonuses are important from a recruiting standpoint because many firms
are hiring in a competitive market, and each unsatisfied departing
associate opens another spot that needs to be filled. Matching the bonus
structure is a good way for firms to stay competitive.
"The fear of burnout is there, which is why hiring is up — you have to
spread the wealth in terms of workload," Bhatt said.
It remains to be seen whether more firms hop on the bonus bandwagon,
but the trend is creating an uphill battle for firms that haven't offered up
extra pay. London-based law firm Clifford Chance said in an internal email
published by Above the Law that US associates won't be getting a spring
bonus because they got one in the fall. Dozens of other top law firms
haven't said whether or not they were giving out bonuses this spring.
It's also unclear whether generous bonuses will do enough to keep
overworked associates happy in the long run.
"At the end of the day, it's not what most of us want," said a San
Francisco-based associate who works at one of the firms that announced
a special bonus. "I think most of us want to work less."
These are the law firms that have announced
special bonuses for associates:
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
Cooley
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Debevoise & Plimpton
DLA Piper
Goodwin Procter
Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian

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Big Law Associates Are Burning Out, Sparking a Wave of Special Bonuses
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https://www.businessinsider.com/big-law-associates-burnout-bonuses-hours-retention-recruiting-lateral-hires-2021-3
Kirkland & Ellis
Latham & Watkins
Lowenstein Sandler
Milbank
Morgan Lewis
Paul Hastings
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Paul Hastings
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Ropes & Gray
Sidley Austin
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
White & Case
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati