A Big Law Firm Is Giving $75,000 Referral Bonuses As Talent War Rages - Business Insider

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• Willkie Farr is giving $75,000 referral bonuses to lawyers who find "experienced" new hires.
• The firm is also offering roughly $200,000 signing bonuses for candidates in Houston.
• The hiring tear has led to a 29 percent growth in headcount, according to Leopard Solutions.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher is paying $75,000 referral bonuses to associates who help the firm hire qualified lateral candidates, Insider has learned.

The bonus payments are split into two parts, with associates receiving the first $50,000 after the new hire arrives, and the remaining $25,000 when the hire has worked at the firm for a year, according to a copy of an internal email reviewed by Insider.

The bonuses are meant to help the firm recruit "experienced" corporate laterals, according to the email, which was sent by Willkie partner Danielle Scalzo in New York.

Willkie's move to offer generous bonuses highlights the feverish competition for junior lawyers at Big Law firms. Last month, top firms started increasing pay for first-year associates to $215,000, and firms doled out multiple rounds of so-called special bonuses throughout 2021.

Willkie also appears to be laying its cards out on signing bonuses. In recruiting for its Houston office, for instance, Willkie has now pre-cleared recruiters to offer roughly $200,000 in signing bonuses for certain qualified mid-level lateral associate candidates, according to a recruiter who spoke on condition of anonymity.

That number is in line with what top firms including Kirkland & Ellis and Davis Polk & Wardwell have offered qualified lateral hires over the past year. But it's less common for firms to present that possibility upfront, the recruiter said.

"Most firms don't do that," the recruiter said. "It's almost always just an after-the-fact kind of negotiation."

Willkie did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Willkie's headcount has grown 29% over the past year

Willkie's move to ramp up its recruiting efforts was confirmed by two former Willkie attorneys, who described attorneys leaving certain practices. But the firm's pace of hiring has more than made up for any departures — its headcount grew by roughly 29% over the past year, according to data from Leopard Solutions, which tracks attorney moves. Willkie added roughly 300 attorneys during that time and lost 114.

Attrition, especially among mid-level associates in deals-related groups, has been common across Big Law firms in the past year, as associates get poached by competitors or leave the industry altogether, seeking a reprieve from burnout.

Former Willkie attorneys described seeing turnover at the firm, particularly in New York. They said those departures were typical of the kind of attrition that many Big Law firms in New York have experienced during the pandemic.

"Summer 2020, no one's leaving — perhaps, no opportunities," said a former Willkie attorney who declined to be named. But at the end of 2020, "all of a sudden, there was more opportunity than there had ever been," the attorney said.

Although Willkie doesn't set minimum annual billing hour requirements, the culture and pace of business at the firm often translated to long working hours in busy practice groups, the attorney said.

"There's an expectation that you'll always say yes," the attorney said, describing seeing associates regularly billing "like 250 hours month after month after month."

Big Law firms want to hire more experienced associates

The turnover in busy M&A, corporate, and finance groups at top law firms has seen the departures of mid-level and senior associates often billing upwards of 2,400 hours or more.

The focus of hiring in Big Law firms has also been shifting, recruiters said. While last year's hiring push saw firms willing to hire newer associates and train them in busy practice areas, they're now focused on more experienced hires, recruiters said.

"In 2021, firms were willing to interview and consider any corporate associate they could get their hands on – regardless of class year – resulting in a wave of first to third-year associates lateraling," said Evan Fox, managing director at Long Ridge Partners, who places lawyers at AmLaw 100 firms. Fox spoke generally about the recruiting market for associates.

"So far in 2022, firms are turning their focus towards folks who can hit the ground running on day one," he said. "Corporate practices are stocked at the junior level — what they really lack are the deal-runners who can take pressure off the partners."

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source: https://www.businessinsider.com/willkie-farr-75000-referral-bonuses-big-law-talent-war-2022-2

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