The large story of the 2024 bonus season has been particular… particular bonuses, that’s. Milbank began the Biglaw ball rolling this summer time with particular bonuses (on prime of typical year-end ones) starting from $6,000 to $25,000. It took the remainder of the trade a number of months, however now on the finish of the yr, *most* of the highest of the trade has matched Milbank. So it was fairly the shock when prime agency Hogan Lovells didn’t.
But extra than simply stunned, associates have been pissed. HoLove is traditionally a really worthwhile agency that persistently ranks as one of many prime within the nation. To associates, the transfer felt short-sighted (distinguishing themselves from peer companies in such an unflattering means) and low cost (all indications have been that the agency continues to be worthwhile).
The excellent news is the agency has heard the associates’ grumblings. This morning, the agency despatched out an e mail (reproduced in full under) acknowledging the discontent.
Thank you to your candid suggestions relating to the absence of a particular bonus on this week’s announcement. It is a basic power of our agency that everybody in our group gives such suggestions, and we worth your perspective and enter on this and different issues.
We have heard from a lot of you that management didn’t talk successfully about this determination and we settle for this criticism. We acknowledge that we might have dealt with this extra successfully.
Listen, the shock of all of it wasn’t enjoyable for associates — however that wasn’t the *drawback*. As a tipster famous, “Hogan attempting to do injury management on bonuses, simply making issues worse. The drawback wasn’t the ‘communication’ — it was the quantity.”
Richard Lorenzo, the agency’s regional managing associate, went on to say the agency is engaged on “finest to handle the issues raised in a optimistic method.” You simply… give them cash. But I’m certain as an alternative of simply ponying up the money, they’ll attempt to provide you with another ploy to attempt to quell the discontent.
Hey, so long as it doesn’t outcome within the bumbling kidnapping of agency management by Cousin Eddie, it’s successful.
Full memo under.
Remember everybody, we rely in your tricks to keep on prime of necessary bonus updates, so when your agency matches, please textual content us (646-820-8477) or e mail us (topic line: “[Firm Name] Matches”). Please embody the memo if out there. You can take a photograph of the memo and ship it through textual content or e mail if you happen to don’t need to ahead the unique PDF or Word file.
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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 most effective, so please join together with her. Feel free to e mail her with any suggestions, questions, or feedback and comply with her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
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