This Firm Announced Raises On The Same Day Roe Was Overturned

The Supreme Court has been mighty busy erasing precedent and doing away with once constitutionally protected rights, but law firms have been busy making money, so what better time to announce associate compensation changes than during this upheaval?

On Friday, the same day that Roe v. Wade fell, Florida-based boutique firm Bilzin Sumberg informed associates that their compensation structure would be changing. That’s one way to cheer up your associates.

Before disclosing information about raises, Albert E. Dotson Jr., the firm’s managing partner, took care to flag the fact that Bilzin is performing quite well financially. “Our Florida-first model is thriving,” he wrote. “Bilzin Sumberg achieved profit-per-equity-partner and revenue-per-lawyer of $1.56MM and $879,000, respectively, which is on par with – and, in many cases, ahead of – Florida’s AmLaw 100 and 200 firms.”

According to the firm’s memo (available in full on the following page), first-year associates will be making $215,000, but more-senior associates’ salaries will remain within a merit-based, black box system. All associates and of counsel who are billing 1,900 hours will receive a raise, and those who are billing below that threshold will receive a raise commensurate with their productivity. Compensation adjustments will be effective as of September 1.

Congratulations to everyone at the firm.

(Flip to the next page to see the full memo from Bilzin Sumberg.)

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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