Milbank Raises Associate Salaries, Kicks Off Bonus Season

Milbank LLP is giving its associates $10,000 salary raises and rolling out annual bonuses for junior lawyers.

The firm’s new associate salary scale ranges from $225,000 to $425,000, Scott Edelman, Milbank’s chairman, said Tuesday in an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg Law. The Manhattan-founded firm is also doling out annual bonuses of up to $115,000 for its most senior associates, Edelman said.

“We continue to be very busy across the Firm, and we expect that we will continue to see high levels of activity for the remainder of the year,” Edelman said.

The salary bump could spark a wave of similar moves by major law firms, which often race to keep pace with competitors on pay.

The bonus scale matches the same range used by Big Law firms in the last two years. Many legal industry experts expect firms to stick to that scale, as demand for talent and work remains flat amid a subdued transactions market.

Firms typically begin announcing year-end bonuses in late November, setting off a flurry of matches. Baker McKenzie was the first to announce bonuses last year, using the same scale from the previous year.

Quinn Emanuel got ahead of the game earlier this month, announcing “special” associate bonuses in addition to annual extra payments. The bonuses range up to nearly $33,000 based on seniority and hours billed over the year.

The Milbank pay raises and bonuses were first reported by Above The Law.