PLUS – The 2023 BigLaw Pay Scale Survey
Albert Goodwin – The Cravath scale has been climbed – and eclipsed – yet again and this time it is top firms, Williams & Connolly LLP who have exceed the wage scale set by Cravath Swaine & Moore.
The Williams & Connolly pay deal promises to pay attorneys up to $65,000 more than others in the Cravath league (which is most of the firms in the LawFuel ‘MostPrestigious Law Firm List’.
AbovetheLaw have outlined the Williams & Connolly rankings as follows:
| Class | Salary | Difference |
| Class of 2023 | $250K | $25K |
| Class of 2022 | $290K | $55K |
| Class of 2021 | $325K | $65K |
| Class of 2020 | $365K | $55K |
| Class of 2019 | $410K | $45K |
| Class of 2018 | $435K | $45K |
| Class of 2017 | $450K | $30K |
| Class of 2016+ | $455K | $20K |
We reported last month on the big law pay scale rankings with Milbank and others raising their bonus payments to match the Cravath scale.
And a survey from Chambers law rankings shows that law firms are now developing compensation deals that handle the current financial situation but also are enough to entice legal talent to their firms.
The survey from Chambers and also from Law360 Pulse show that compensation arrangements can diversify considerably and lawyers need to do some homework before picking the firm they hope may pick them.
The Law360Pulse figures are interesting, albeit somewhat scanty in terms of those who completed the survey, in that they look not just as earnings, but also at billable hours, billing rates and other criteria.
Meanwhile, let’s look at the Chambers’ figures on big law salary scale figures and also keep in mind that there will often be regional variations and some firms will pay different rates for different markets:
| Row Labels | 1st year salary | 2nd year salary |
| Adam Leitman Bailey | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Akin Gump | $215000 | $225000 |
| Allen & Overy | $215000 | $225000 |
| Alston & Bird | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Arnold & Porter | $215000 | $225000 |
| Ashurst | $202500 | $202500 |
| Axinn | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Baker Botts | $215000 | $225000 |
| Bracewell | $215000 | $225000 |
| Brown Rudnick | $215000 | $225000 |
| Cadwalader | $215000 | $225000 |
| Cahill | $215000 | $225000 |
| Choate | $215000 | $225000 |
| Cleary Gottlieb | $215000 | $225000 |
| Clifford Chance | $215000 | $215000 |
| Cooley | $215000 | $225000 |
| Covington & Burling | $215000 | $225000 |
| Cozen O’Connor | $150000-$190000 | Undisclosed |
| Cravath | $215000 | $225000 |
| Crowell & Moring | $185000-$205000 | $195000-$215000 |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell | $215000 | $225000 |
| Debevoise & Plimpton | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Dechert | $215000 | $225000 |
| DLA Piper | $215000 | $225000 |
| Duane Morris | $175000-$205000 | Undisclosed |
| Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath | $165000-$215000 | Undisclosed |
| Finnegan | $215000 | $225000 |
| Fish & Richardson | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Foley & Lardner | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Foley Hoag | $215000 | $225000 |
| Fox Rothschild | $140000- $195000 | Undisclosed |
| Freshfields | $215000 | $225000 |
| Fried, Frank | $215000 | $225000 |
| Gibson, Dunn | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Goodwin | $215000 | $225000 |
| Goulston & Storrs | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Greenberg Glusker | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Greenberg Traurig | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Gunderson | $215000 | $225000 |
| Haynes and Boone | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Herbert Smith Freehills | $215000 | $225000 |
| Hogan Lovells US | $215000 | $225000 |
| Holland & Knight | $215000 | $225000 |
| Holwell Shuster & Goldberg | $215000 | $225000 |
| Hunton Andrews Kurth | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Irell & Manella | $215000 | $225000 |
| Jackson Walker | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Jenner & Block | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Jones Day | $225000 | Undisclosed |
| K&L Gates | $180000-$215000 | Undisclosed |
| Kasowitz | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Katten | $215000 | $225000 |
| King & Spalding | $215000 | $225000 |
| Kirkland | $215000 | $225000 |
| Kramer Levin | $215000 | $225000 |
| Latham & Watkins | $215000 | $225000 |
| Linklaters | $215000 | $225000 |
| Mayer Brown | $215000 | $215000 |
| McDermott | $215000 | $225000 |
| Milbank | $215000 | $225000 |
| Mintz Levin | $215000 | $225000 |
| Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | $215000 | $225000 |
| Morrison & Foerster | $215000 | $225000 |
| Munger, Tolles & Olson | $215000 | $225000 |
| Nelson Mullins | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | $180000-$215000 | Undisclosed |
| O’Melveny | $215000 | $225000 |
| Orrick | $215000 | $225000 |
| Patterson Belknap | £215000 | $225000 |
| Paul Hastings | $215000 | $225000 |
| Paul, Weiss | $215000 | $225000 |
| Perkins Coie | $150000 – $205000 | $155000 – $215000 |
| Pillsbury | $215000 | $225000 |
| Polsinelli | $200000 | Undisclosed |
| Proskauer Rose | $215000 | $225000 |
| Reed Smith | 215000 | Undisclosed |
| Richards, Layton & Finger | $19000 | Undisclosed |
| Ropes & Gray | $215000 | $225000 |
| Schulte Roth & Zabel | $215000 | $225000 |
| Seward & Kissel | $215000 | $225000 |
| Seyfarth Shaw | $190000 | $200000 |
| Shearman & Sterling | $215000 | $225000 |
| Sheppard, Mullin | $215000 | $225000 |
| Sidley Austin | $215000 | $225000 |
| Simpson Thacher | $215000 | $225000 |
| Skadden | $215000 | Undisclosed |
| Sterne, Kessler | $185000-$215000 | $195000-$225000 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | $215000 | $225000 |
| Vedder Price | $205000 | $210000 |
| Venable | $205000 | $215000 |
| Vinson & Elkins | $215000 | $225000 |
| Weil | $215000 | $225000 |
| White & Case | $215000 | $225000 |
| Wiley Rein | $215000 | $225000 |
| Willkie Farr | $215000 | $225000 |
| WilmerHale | $215000 | $225000 |
| Wilson Sonsini | $215000 | $225000 |
| Winston & Strawn | $215000 | $225000 |
Let us know about law firm pay rates or big law bonuses and other issues that law firms and law associates want to know about: Email us at lawfuel@gmail.com
Author –
Albert Goodwin writes on law firm business and pay arrangements relating to biglaw bonuses and salary scales with his last article for LawFuel being on the Milbank pay deals. He may be contacted at news@lawfuel.com.
