In the world of Biglaw, the only thing more exciting than associate bonuses is partner bonuses. As luck would have it, one top 50 Am Law firm just got the memo.
According to a new report from the American Lawyer, Debevoise & Plimpton has created a new bonus pool for partners as part of a broader modification to its compensation system, giving firm leadership more flexibility to reward top performers and retain key talent in an increasingly brutal lateral market.
For decades, Debevoise has been one of the standard-bearers for traditional lockstep compensation in Biglaw. But pure lockstep has gotten a lot harder to defend in the era of massive lateral guarantees, and even firms whose identities have become synonymous with lockstep are being forced to adapt.
Per the Am Law report, the new structure doesn’t completely dismantle Debevoise’s compensation model, but it does create room for discretionary rewards outside the traditional framework. Here’s what Peter Furci, the firm’s presiding partner, had to say about the change:
“It’s a talent game,” Furci … said this week. “We will use it (the pool) to retain, but also to get talent. At the end of the day, our compensation framework needs to work in support of our strategy. And we took a hard look at that. The partnership has reaffirmed lockstep as the foundation, while adding a defined pool of profits we can deploy strategically to hold onto and attract talent.”
While Furci declined to say exactly what percentage of profits would be allocated to the partner bonus pool, he described the amount as “meaningful” and said it would provide the firm with flexibility moving forward.
Nearly one year ago, Debevoise announced its own nonequity partnership tier while simultaneously insisting it would maintain lockstep compensation across the firm. Now, that compensation structure is evolving yet again — and honestly, can you blame partners for wanting bonuses?
Biglaw firms have spent the better part of the last decade trying to figure out how to stop star partners from taking recruiter calls. Industry leaders that once treated lockstep as sacred have introduced nonequity tiers, widened compensation bands, and implemented discretionary bonus structures to keep rainmakers from walking out the door.
In today’s lateral-happy Biglaw market, ideological commitment to lockstep suddenly becomes a lot less important when competitors are waving around eight-figure compensation packages.
Of course, firms will continue framing these changes in softer language, using terms like “collaboration,” “strategic growth,” and “rewarding excellence.” But lawyers in the know — particularly those hoping for a payout from the new bonus pool — can read between the lines: if Biglaw wants to keep elite talent from jumping ship, compensation systems need to evolve.
Welcome to the 2026 version of Biglaw, where lockstep increasingly comes with an asterisk.
Debevoise Creates Bonus Pool for Partners, Modifying Comp System [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
