Time and again this bonus season, boutique firms have done much more than simply match the Cravath/Milbank scale for year-end and special bonuses. The latest firm to do so is offering above-market bonuses to its associates — and source tell us that in some cases, those bonuses are “significantly” above market.
The latest boutique to spread the wealth to associates is New York-based investment fund litigation boutique Rolnick Kramer Sadighi. The young firm recently celebrated its five-year anniversary, and in a LinkedIn post published earlier this week, announced that “its associate and counsel bonuses yet again exceeded the Cravath/Milbank year-end and special bonus scale.”
As a reminder, this is what the prevailing market rate for bonuses and special bonuses looks like this year (give or take the inclusion of the Class of 2025), and RKS is awarding bonuses “above” these amounts:
- Class of 2024 – $20,000 / $6,000
- Class of 2023 – $30,000 / $10,000
- Class of 2022 – $57,500 / $15,000
- Class of 2021 – $75,000 / $20,000
- Class of 2020 – $90,000 / $25,000
- Class of 2019 – $105,000 / $25,000
- Class of 2018+ – $115,000 / $25,000
Congratulations to all Rolnick Kramer Sadighi associates!
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Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of 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 Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on.
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