We’ve declared 2025 the year of the litigation boutique and the bonuses they’re showering on associates is proof positive the small but mighty firms are where it’s at.
The latest boutique showering associates with cash is Pallas Partners, the firm founded by former Boies Schiller managing partner Natasha Harrison with offices in London and New York. Associates will get their market bonuses, then are eligible for step-up bonuses that could add as much as another 80% to their take-home amount.
The bonus schedules at Pallas are as follows:
| Class Year | 2025 Base Market Bonus | Special Bonus |
| 2024 | $20,000 | $6,000 |
| 2023 | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | $57,500 | $15,000 |
| 2021 | $75,000 | $20,000 |
| 2020 | $90,000 | $25,000 |
| 2019 | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| 2018+ | $115,000 | $25,000 |
Full details of our step-up thresholds are as follows:
| Class | Base Bonus ($) | Step #1 Bonus | Step #2 Bonus | Step#3 Bonus | Step#4 Bonus | Step #5 Bonus |
| – | 15% | 30% | 50% | 60% | 80% | |
| 2,000 | 2,100 | 2,200 | 2,350 | 2,400 | 2,500 | |
| Class I | $20,000 | $3,000 | $6,000 | $10,000 | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Class II | $30,000 | $4,500 | $9,000 | $15,000 | $18,000 | $24,000 |
| Class III | $57,500 | $8,625 | $17,250 | $28,750 | $34,500 | $46,000 |
| Class IV | $75,000 | $11,250 | $22,500 | $37,500 | $45,000 | $60,000 |
| Class V | $90,000 | $13,500 | $27,000 | $45,000 | $54,000 | $72,000 |
| Class VI | $105,000 | $15,750 | $31,500 | $52,500 | $63,000 | $84,000 |
| Class VII | $115,000 | $17,250 | $34,500 | $57,500 | $69,000 | $92,000 |
| Counsel I | $115,000 | $17,250 | $34,500 | $57,500 | $69,000 | $92,000 |
| Counsel II | $115,000 | $17,250 | $34,500 | $57,500 | $69,000 | $92,000 |
Congrats to everyone at Pallas!
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of compensation updates, so when your firm announces or matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus/Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for your help!
Full memo available below.
Dear all,
I am pleased to confirm that we will be awarding base market bonuses to qualifying counsel and associates this year in line with our bonus scale set forth in the table below. In addition, I am pleased to let you know that this year we will also be paying special bonuses, details of which are outlined below.
| Class Year | 2025 Base Market Bonus | Special Bonus |
| 2024 | $20,000 | $6,000 |
| 2023 | $30,000 | $10,000 |
| 2022 | $57,500 | $15,000 |
| 2021 | $75,000 | $20,000 |
| 2020 | $90,000 | $25,000 |
| 2019 | $105,000 | $25,000 |
| 2018+ | $115,000 | $25,000 |
Full details of our step-up thresholds are as follows:
| Class | Base Bonus ($) | Step #1 Bonus | Step #2 Bonus | Step#3 Bonus | Step#4 Bonus | Step #5 Bonus |
| – | 15% | 30% | 50% | 60% | 80% | |
| 2,000 | 2,100 | 2,200 | 2,350 | 2,400 | 2,500 | |
| Class I | $20,000 | $3,000 | $6,000 | $10,000 | $12,000 | $16,000 |
| Class II | $30,000 | $4,500 | $9,000 | $15,000 | $18,000 | $24,000 |
| Class III | $57,500 | $8,625 | $17,250 | $28,750 | $34,500 | $46,000 |
| Class IV | $75,000 | $11,250 | $22,500 | $37,500 | $45,000 | $60,000 |
| Class V | $90,000 | $13,500 | $27,000 | $45,000 | $54,000 | $72,000 |
| Class VI | $105,000 | $15,750 | $31,500 | $52,500 | $63,000 | $84,000 |
| Class VII | $115,000 | $17,250 | $34,500 | $57,500 | $69,000 | $92,000 |
| Counsel I | $115,000 | $17,250 | $34,500 | $57,500 | $69,000 | $92,000 |
| Counsel II | $115,000 | $17,250 | $34,500 | $57,500 | $69,000 | $92,000 |
Bonuses will be paid to those qualifying* counsel and associates who have met the Firm’s hours target. Timing of bonus payments will be communicated separately.
We would like to take this time to thank you for your hard work and contributions this year.
Vicky
* Counsel and associates in good standing, employed prior to 1 September 2025 and who remain employed by the Firm on the date of the bonus payment.
| Victoria Bingle Director of Human Resources |
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Another Elite Litigation Boutique Comes Over The Top Of Biglaw For Year-End Bonuses appeared first on Above the Law.