In such a struggling industry, you might think any Biglaw bonuses would be cause for celebration.
Especially if those bonuses match the industry standard.
But apparently, for Skadden Arps associates, just matching the already high (at least for this economy) industry standard isn't good enough.
While Skadden doesn't release a full bonus schedule for every class, tipsters are telling Above The Law the firm has matched the bonuses competitor Cravath is paying out to the classes of 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2010.
Cravath is paying $50,000, $40,000, $34,000, and $14,000 to each class respectively.
But Skadden associates aren't impressed. Here are some of the reactions that have been sent to ATL:
“[N]ot overly excited, but not as annoyed as I would have been had it been a rehash of 2010 AGAIN.”
“I’m obviously glad that Cravath raised the bar from last year, but not high enough that I’m skipping through the halls or anything.”
Considering the fact that the demand for legal services dropped .8 percent across the board and some firms have been using short-term debt just to stay afloat until the end of the year, it seems like associates might be pleased they're getting bonuses at all.
Plus, it could be worse: Weil Gotshal associates won't even be getting their bonuses until next year >
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