White & Case has not announced a match to the new Milbank salary scale. That’s been true for lots of firms, as the broader Biglaw world has moved at a glacial pace while litigation boutiques sprint up the compensation scorecard.
And yet.
A current (at least for now) White & Case job posting for a mid-level M&A associate in New York lists a salary range of $270,000 to $385,000 per year. (UPDATE: The page is no longer active, but you can peep the screen shot below.)
For those keeping score: under the new Milbank scale, 3rd-years earn $270,000, 4th-years earn $320,000, and 5th-years earn $385,000. A mid-level M&A associate would typically be somewhere in that 3rd-to-5th-year window. So the range on this posting — $270,000 to $385,000 — is, shall we say, not a coincidence.
Now, don’t get too excited — the job posting isn’t an announcement. Maybe someone in recruiting is just an over eager oversharer! Or maybe someone at White & Case knows the firm is planning to match, and that they need to recruit at these numbers to get that top-tier talent. But if an announcement does comes, it won’t be a surprise to anyone paying attention to their recruiting materials (and loyal ATL readers, natch).
We’ve reached out to White & Case for comment and will update when we hear back.
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The posting:
Earlier: Just In CASE You Were Wondering, This Biglaw Firm Is Also Matching Another Top 10 Biglaw Gets On Board With Associate Raises And Bonuses
The 2026 Salary Wars Are On — So Where Is Biglaw?
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Bluesky @Kathryn1
