Contrary to what no one believes, the guys at Big Law love money. That's why they live a Sisyphean lifestyle. In addition to your base compensation, you can earn bonuses for exceeding your billable hour goals.
But what about the employees who actually bring clients to the firm? What do they get for flying close to the sun? Most large law firms reward formations outside of partnerships Because there is no standardized way to do this, employees expect changes that will benefit them if they win a new client or two.
In a 2023 survey, one Am Law 100 mid-level employee said they would “reward employees who build businesses.” “Employees should be given the opportunity to join,” said another.
For employees at companies like Norton Rose Fulbright, Husch Blackwell, and Hogan Lovells, there is another source of income.
At Norton Rose, non-partners can receive discretionary bonuses for matters that would not have come to the firm without the involvement of lawyers. Gina Scissima, chief strategy officer and operating partner, declined to specify the formula for such joining bonuses, but said they could be “substantial” compared to an associate's base salary. .
At Husch Blackwell, employees who create deals can earn bonuses of up to 35% of direct margin dollars on deals with direct margins of 40% or more. While many bonuses end up being close to 25% of the direct margin based on the profitability of the matters the employee brings to the table, Chief Growth Officer Dean Baschen said some employees may perform even better. He said he has it in place.
“I've seen employees receive $9 for a deal that didn't bring in much profit, and I've seen employees receive more than $150,000 for a list of clients they brought in in a year. Yes, there was more than that,” Beschen said.
He said Husch Blackwell's program has been around longer than Baschen's 11 years, while Norton Rose Fulbright was unofficially closed during its 2017 merger with Chadbourne & Park. Standardized the policy.
In the case of Norton Rose, the company seeks to compensate its employees for former customers, both to encourage them to further develop their business, but also because the cooperation strengthens the company. there is. “It's consistent with our culture,” Shijima says. “We do things like this to create an environment where people feel like they are part of the overall business.”
Hogan Lovells also allows any non-partner attorney to participate in the New Business Award program.
“Following successful pilots in our UK and German offices, we are pleased to be able to bring the New Business Award program to more offices,” said Ina Brock, lead partner for the program at Hogan Lovells. I am. “This program aims to celebrate new business successes and foster and reward entrepreneurship within our company, with a focus on customer engagement.”
Lawyers in a recent fishbowl thread speculated about why their firms don't offer onboarding bonuses to associates, and blamed not only partner greed but also law firms' distractions from associates' formative training. I accused him of not wanting to do it.
At Husch Blackwell, the billable hour goal is 1,900 hours, and employees are supported by a professional development team focused on foundational legal skills and client development efforts called “Level Up.” In particular, at the company's “Cortex”, an innovation hub for entrepreneurs in St. Louis, employees are encouraged to meet colleagues from their personal and professional networks who may have work to bring to the company. ing.
“When summer classes start, I always tell people to look around the room during class. Some of those people might be clients or lawyers who refer you to work because they have conflicts.” said Boeschen. “It's never too early to reach out and start a relationship, because those early relationships develop into long-term friends and, hopefully, customers.
