Guest post: US associate pay – welcome to the New Mediocre

‘New York To $190!’ was the long-running headline Above The Law printed frequently in more innocent and/or palmier days, with (we suppose) a combination of hope and bemusement. Well, Cravath’s pre-emptive strike of going to $180k didn’t quite get us there. Welcome to the New Normal – or the New Mediocre, the version I’m fond of because of its pith.

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US bonus season: Skadden ups the ante with bonus as Simpson Thacher, Paul Weiss and others match Cravath associate pay

Wall Street’s top firms have announced their bonuses for associates, with many matching the levels of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which became the first US firm to set the benchmark for US associate bonuses this year.

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News in brief – July 2015

FRESHFIELDS BREAKS CITY LOCKSTEP TO BRING IN KIRKLAND’S McKIMM

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s hire of Kirkland & Ellis high-yield heavyweight Ward McKimm made waves in the City in June. Joining as co-head of European leveraged finance, McKimm’s salary is understood to be well above the firm’s City top of equity.

 

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CC matches peers in associate salary race – both Slaughters’ £70k NQs and Links’ 3 year PQE pay

Clifford Chance has revealed its 2015 pay bands for newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers, matching the £70,000 NQ rates of Slaughter and May while also meeting Linklaters’ higher salaries for those with two and three year post-qualified experience (PQE).

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Electoral maths: Partners at top firms to pay £42k more under Labour tax plans while associates are set to gain whoever wins

Law firm partners at major City firms are facing the prospect of a substantive hike in tax if the Labour Party forms a government in this month’s general election with current manifesto pledges expected to see many partners at LB100 firms with a five-figure increase in their annual tax bill.

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Nearshoring: Hogan Lovells hires ten-strong associate team and acquires new office space for Birmingham venture

Having confirmed in early spring the launch of a new cost-efficient legal services centre in Birmingham, Hogan Lovells has hired a ten-strong associate team across multiple practice areas and from national firms, including Pinsent Masons, Clarke Willmott and Shoosmiths, to spearhead the venture as well as acquiring new office space within Birmingham’s central business district.

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