"Many readers of Above the Law eagerly await news about annual bonuses around the end of the year. Most Biglaw law firms award those bonuses based on seniority and perhaps other performance-based metrics. Some smaller law firms also have institutionalized year-end bonus initiatives through which attorneys may receive a bonus equal to one or two months of salary. However, most attorneys work at small law firms and are much less likely to receive an annual bonus at such firms."
"After leaving Biglaw, I started working at a small insurance defense shop that was a small fraction of the size of the large law firm at which I previously worked. I was amazed at how this shop operated differently than the Biglaw firm that had previously employed me. For instance, this shop did not reimburse associates for bar dues and did not fund training and conference attendance."
"Around bonus season, I wondered whether I would receive an annual bonus like attorneys at many Biglaw shops got. Veteran lawyers at the firm could not tell whether the shop would award bonuses. I was told that in some previous years, the firm provided holiday bonuses, which were relatively modest in comparison to the bonuses awarded at Biglaw firms. However, in some years in which the law firm faced financial challenges, they skipped awarding holiday bonuses to associates."
Large law firms commonly award year-end bonuses based on seniority and sometimes performance. Some smaller firms offer institutionalized year-end bonuses equal to one or two months' salary, but most attorneys work at small firms and are less likely to receive annual bonuses. A small insurance defense shop did not reimburse bar dues or fund training and conferences. Veteran lawyers at the shop could not confirm consistent bonuses; the shop gave modest holiday bonuses in some years and skipped them when finances were strained. The shop granted a pay raise but withheld holiday bonuses due to difficult economic realities; vendor gift baskets provided the only holiday cheer. Smaller firms more often withhold individual performance-based bonuses even when awarding others.
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