Boutique Susman Godfrey Tops Cravath Bonuses in New Pay Scale

Susman Godfrey is exceeding Big Law’s latest bonus scale.

The elite litigation boutique is doling out bonuses ranging from $140,000 to $360,000 for its associates. It’s also giving its associates salary raises and matching Big Law’s new salary scale that starts at $225,000 for first-year associates, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg Law.

“We are in a truly extraordinary moment in the 40-plus year history of the firm, with our highest-ever revenue and a record number of cases tried over the last year and a half,” said the firm’s managing partners Vineet Bhatia and Kalpana Srinivasan in a statement.

The announcement comes as Big Law firms announce their new salary and bonus scales. More firms are expected to put out their bonus numbers in the next few months as firms seek to remain competitive among the profession’s talent pool. Cravath, Swaine & Moore increased base salaries by $10,000 for its first three classes of junior litigators. Many firms including Paul Weiss, Cleary Gottlieb and Dechert rushed to match the new scale.

Boutiques, with significantly smaller associate pools, can afford to hand out more money per associate. The amounts often dwarf Big Law’s pay scales. Susman has 75 associates and a total of 170 lawyers, according to the firm.

The Houston-founded firm was behind securing the $787.5 million settlement from conservative media giant Fox Corp., in the largest defamation settlement in history. Dominion Voting Systems Inc., the firm’s client in the defamation suit, accused Fox News of spreading election conspiracies about the 2020 US presidential election.

Susman isn’t the only litigation boutique giving their associates hefty year-end bonuses. Wilkinson Stekloff announced it was giving its most senior associates up to $201,250. The boutique firm’s bonuses will be paid December 15, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg Law.

Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, another boutique litigation shop in New York, is matching the new scale set by Cravath, according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg Law. Private equity boutique Massumi + Consoli LLP also plans to issue salary bumps in January to match Cravath’s scale.