Big Law Spinoff Dunn Isaacson Rhee Drops Hefty Associate Bonuses

Less than a year into the firm’s existence, Dunn Isaacson Rhee is handing out year-end bonuses for its associates.

The Washington-founded litigation boutique that spun off from Paul Weiss will give associates a pair of bonuses ranging up to $175,000, according to a person familiar with the matter. Extra payments start at $21,000 and range up to $140,000, based on seniority. All associates at the firm will also receive a $35,000 bonus.

The firm, whose clients include Andrew Weissmann, Alphabet Inc.‘s Google and Meta Platforms Inc., is not imposing any hours-related pre-requisites for associates to be eligible for the incentives, the person said.

Karen Dunn, Jeannie Rhee, William Isaacson, and Jessica Phillips left Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison in late May to launch the new firm. It later added over a dozen ex-Paul Weiss recruits and poached from other Big Law firms such as Willkie Farr. New recruits included part of the group of attorneys who left Boies Schiller amid criticism over its work for Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and Theranos cofounder Elizabeth Holmes.

Dunn Isaacson isn’t the only boutique dropping bonuses. DC-founded Wilkinson Stekloff issued bonuses ranging from $22,500 to $172,500.

Elite litigation shops, whose associate rosters are a fraction of those at the largest firms, typically blow past the scales set by the industry’s biggest players in recent years. Big Law firms including Cravath and Milbank LLP are offering their associates as much as $140,000.

The spinoff has 28 attorneys.