If ending your lunch hour with bonus news isn’t a big motivator to do your best work again that afternoon, then we don’t know what is. That’s exactly what just happened at Ropes & Gray, one of the top Biglaw firms in the country.
Unsurprisingly, the firm is matching the Cravath year-end bonus scale as well as the Davis Polk special bonus scale — with more money for its most senior associates. Here’s what that looks like:
RG Year
Bonus
Special Bonus
2013+
$130,000
$23,000
2014
$115,000
$23,000
2015
$105,000
$21,000
2016
$90,000
$18,000
2017
$75,000
$15,000
2018
$57,500
$11,500
2019
$30,000
$6,000
2020
$20,000
$4,000
2021
$15,000 (prorated)
–
Note that the firm is doling out $130K bonuses to the class of 2013 and beyond. Will any other firm be willing to make this match for its senior associates?
On top of these bonuses, Ropes will be handing out even more money to those associates who have really put in a lot of work this year. “We also recognize that this year has brought a heavy volume of work for many of you, and we know the sacrifices you have made to continue providing our clients the highest level of service,” write chair Julie Jones and managing partner David Djaha. “Therefore, we are increasing the bonuses listed below for those of you who annualized above our target and helped us bring the year to a successful close.”
Congratulations to everyone at the firm on a fantastic year!
(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from Ropes & Gray.)
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at 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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
