For Some Dechert Rainmakers, Bonuses Come With Golden Handcuffs

Dechert LLP is increasingly threatening to take back bonus money from partners who leave the firm.

Within the last year, multiple Dechert partners have been given signing bonuses with strings attached. The firm says it will force the lawyers to return the money if they leave within a certain time frame, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Bonus clawback provisions are not a new retention tool for law firms. They have grown in popularity—along with strategies like withholding deferred compensation and offering forgivable loans—as firms defend against poachers in a competitive lateral market.

“The firms don’t want to ...