BREAKING: Cravath Finally Makes Its Compensation Move, Coming Over The Top Of Market Raises! – Above the Law

Businessman holding money for auction bidding

Businessman holding money for auction bidding

The 2022 Biglaw raises… have been slow going. Back in January, Milbank announced raises, but the matches were not nearly as fast and furious as associates would hope. But then Davis Polk made its move, matching the salary numbers for junior associates, but coming over the top for midlevel and senior associates. And all of a sudden the salary announcements started rolling in.

But the question remained what would Cravath — part of the troika of Biglaw salary leaders (along with the aforementioned Milbank and Davis Polk) — do about associate compensation? Well, now we have our answer.

This afternoon, the firm announced the following compensation scale — and WOW — they surpass even the elevated Davis Polk scale for midlevel and senior associates.

Class of 2021: $215,000 ($215,000)

Class of 2020: $225,000 ($225,000)

Class of 2019: $250,000 ($250,000)

Class of 2018: $295,000 ($293,500) $1,500 more

Class of 2017: $345,000 ($335,000) $10,000 more

Class of 2016: $370,000 ($360,500) $9,500 more

Class of 2015: $400,000 ($381,000) $19,000 more

Class of 2014: $415,000 ($396,500) $18,500 more

Let’s see how quickly the rest of Biglaw catches up!

The increases are retroactive to January 1. You can read the full memo on the next page.

*** Wondering if the grass is greener on the in-house side? Click here for a look inside the black box of corporate counsel pay in our 2021 In-House Compensation Report. ***

Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of important bonus updates, so when your firm matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] 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 all of your help!


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).


Enter your email address to sign up for ATL’s Bonus & Salary Increase Alerts.


Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *