COMP NEWS – Another top law firm has announced an array of new compensation increases in both salary and bonuses, joining a hyper-competitive year among law firms that are vying to retain top associates.

Cozen O’Connor — a firm that brought in $530,875,000 gross revenue in 2020, placing it at No. 74 in the most recent Am Law 100 ranking — notified associates yesterday that everyone would be receiving a raise.

 

Starting salaries at the firm will be getting a $20,000 boost, but that’s not all. On top of that, department chairs will be permitted to “increase base compensation paid to the Associates and Counsel for the balance of 2021 in an amount up to the increase in starting salary,” effective July 1, 2021. Attorneys will find out their new salaries in a personal memo sometime today. But wait, there’s more good news. Associates and counsel will also be receiving a special bonus by the end of the year that will be paid in addition to, and not in lieu of, their year-end bonuses.

The compensation increases seem to be part of a multi-fold strategy for the firm to retain its best associates while also enticing new ones to join the ranks.

Cozen O’Connor’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Michael Heller, sent out a memo following these announcements that detailed the firm’s desire to find a work culture that “incentivizes productivity and rewards great lawyering” at the same time promoting, “the importance of work life balance and, therefore, your mental health and well-being.”

You can read that memo and the rest of the full story here.

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