Attention, associates: the moment you’ve been waiting for in the 2022 salary wars has finally arrived. Davis Polk & Wardwell has finally made a move, and we think Biglaw attorneys are really going to like it. After staying silent since Milbank announced the $215K salary scale on January 20, the compensation leader has finally announced its plans.
This is not a Milbank match. We repeat, this is not a Milbank match. Davis Polk is offering even MORE money to associates.
Here is the new Davis Polk scale (compared to the Milbank scale):
- Class of 2021: $215,000 ($215,000)
- Class of 2020: $225,000 ($225,000)
- Class of 2019: $250,000 ($250,000)
- Class of 2018: $293,500 ($285,000) $8,500 more
- Class of 2017: $335,000 ($325,000) $10,000 more
- Class of 2016: $360,500 ($350,000) $10,500 more
- Class of 2015: $381,000 ($370,000) $11,000 more
- Class of 2014+: $396,500 ($385,000) $11,500 more
Davis Polk is rewarding its midlevels and senior associates with compensation increases ranging from $8,500 more to $11,500 more than the Milbank scale. This is now the scale to match. How long will it take?
Congratulations to all associates at DPW — and all associates everywhere else, because we have a feeling that the market is about to get moving!
(Flip to the next page to read the full memo from Davis Polk.)
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of this stuff. 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.
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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at 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 Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
