Salary war starts amongst big firms to attract new lawyers

Salary war starts amongst big firms to attract new lawyers

Following Milbank, Davis Polk sets associate pay benchmarks as the latest salary war sparks into life to attract new law graduates to the profession

It's boom time for fresh law graduates in the US. As a result of the salary amongst top law firms, starting has risen significantly amidst concerns over associate burnout and the declining attractiveness of the law firm model.

The US law firms have currently got locked into an associate salary war as they look to match one another to attract and retain talent amid the spike in volumes of work.

Following the hike announced by Milbank, raising first-year associate salaries by $10,000 to $200,000, with its most senior associates receiving $355,000, Davis Polk & Wardwell has now upped associate salaries to between $202,500 and $365,000 per year depending on seniority level.

It is reported that after matching Milbank's scale, McDermott Will & Emery increased the salaries again to be in line with Davis Polk. Proskauer Rose and Baker McKenzie are among other law firms to increased salaries to match Davis Polk.

Reports coming in suggest that there is a potential for a further increase in salaries with Cravath Swaine & Moore identified as a possible contender to match and upstage all rivals.

The latest round of salary hikes has come three years after Milbank had started it when it has increased associate pay to $190,000 in 2018.

Issuance of special Covid-19 bonuses by some of the leading law firms in recognition of their associates' hard work during the pandemic has played a key role in leading to the latest salary hike war.

According to the law industry, the salary hikes for entrants in the profession is also an indicator of the diminishing attractiveness of the traditional law firm model for emerging law graduates, as many talented law graduates are now tempted to jump into non-traditional law-related jobs.