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Is that this the yr for affiliate raises?
Lawyer Pay
Is that this the yr for affiliate raises?
By Debra Cassens Weiss
July 10, 2025, 2:58 pm CDT
Regulation agency associates hoping for a bump within the wage scale this yr could should maintain ready. (Picture from Shutterstock)
Regulation agency associates hoping for a bump within the wage scale this yr could should maintain ready, in keeping with a recruiter who spoke with Bloomberg Regulation.
Ru Bhatt, a recruiter with authorized recruiting agency Main Lindsey & Africa, doesn’t suppose that there will probably be raises to base pay this yr. However the outlook isn’t all unhealthy—greater annual bonuses may nonetheless be on the desk at prime companies, Bhatt advised Bloomberg Regulation.
“It’s as much as these companions to resolve: Am I keen to forgo a few of my comp to maintain associates completely satisfied or to draw the suitable kinds of associates?” Bhatt mentioned.
The present wage scale for associates at many massive companies ranges from $225,000 to $435,000 after the final raises to base pay introduced in 2023.
However not everybody in BigLaw is getting that quantity. The companies paying the charges introduced in 2023 “are principally greater and extra worthwhile than the others,” the article reviews.
The “tepid bounce again” of merger and acquisitions work may very well be affecting wage choices, Bloomberg Regulation says. Though deal work at companies elevated practically 19% for the primary half of 2025, the rise is decrease than anticipated, the article says.
Within the present local weather, many companies are “seeking to maintain down prices and juice earnings because the recruiting focus stays on high-end companions at main companies,” the article says.
That comes at a value for associates. Affiliate hiring is down 5.9% for the primary quarter of 2025, in comparison with the identical time final yr.
Hat tip to Above the Regulation.
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