If you needed a reminder that bonuses aren’t entitlements, look no further. Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer announced their bonus scheme and not everyone is happy about it. On paper, the firm is matching the market’s year end bonuses, which is good! But sometimes, good actually is the enemy of the great. Looks like A&P is being stingy by adding in short-notice hour requirements for the special bonuses. As a quick example, let’s look at the scale being used by a firm a little lower on the AM 100 — Baker Botts:
| Deem Date | Year-End Bonus | Special Bonus |
| 2023 | $20,000 | $6,000 |
| 2022 | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| 2021 | $57,500 | $15,000 |
| 2020 | $75,000 | $20,000 |
| 2019 | $90,000 | $25,000 |
| 2018 | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| 2017+ | $115,000 | $25,000 |
Meet your hours, be in your class, collect your money, and pass go. Simple, right? A&P is doing things a little bit different. You’ll need at least 2000 hours to hit your base bonuses (at least 1800 of those must be client billable) and 2200 hours (at least 2000 hours must be client billable) to hit the special bonus rung. It’s one thing to know ahead of time that 2200 hours would be the threshold for the special bonus, but the associates were only told this with 11 days left in the calendar year! As one tipster put it:
Under the policy, an associate “merely” in good standing could only receive a special bonus by forgoing all winter holidays and billing +18 hours every day until the ball (or the associate) drops. For a firm that shouts about well-being, the policy sends a clear message: Unlike associates at peer-ranked firms, A&P associates are only valued while the meter is running. Bah humbug!
Way to ruin Christmas, A&P!
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Full memo on the next page.
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
