Willkie goes to $205K as Big Law salary hikes continue

(Reuters) - Willkie Farr & Gallagher confirmed Thursday that it’s raising salaries for incoming first-year associates to $205,000, above the rate Davis Polk & Wardwell set and other New York rivals have matched since last week.

The firm will increase salaries for its current first-year associates, the class of 2020, from $190,000 to $205,000 too.

Legal industry blog Above the Law first reported the news.

New York-based Milbank started an associate compensation battle last Thursday when it said it would pay incoming and current first-year associates salaries of $200,000. Davis Polk upped the ante Friday, offering incoming first-year associates a $202,500 starting salary and current first-years $205,000.

Elite New York firms including Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson have matched Davis Polk's scale since Wednesday.

Those firms - traditionally leaders in associate compensation - were relatively late to match.

Instead firms based outside of New York, including McDermott, Will & Emery and Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, were among the first to match Davis Polk or Milbank.

The salary increases come as Big Law firms grapple with how to retain associates. Deal volume remains high, the hiring market is hot and the coronavirus pandemic has increased the risk of burnout.

The ten most profitable elite New York firms - including Cravath, Paul Weiss, Milbank and Davis Polk - have together lost hundreds of associates in 2021, especially to firms with tech sector clients and those that promise more work-life balance.

Read More:

Cravath and Paul Weiss match new top salary rates for associates

Elite N.Y. firms are in a battle for talent. Could they all be losing

Some firms rush to match associate raises as others watch and wait

Surpassing Milbank, Davis Polk boosts 1st-year associate pay to $202,500

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