MoCo® Part of Midsize Firm Trend to Award Bonuses to Associates

An article in the February 19, 2014 issue of the New York Law Journal reported that the awarding of bonuses to law firm associates is no longer a practice engaged in by large firms only. The Law Journal cited midsize firms and boutiques as stating that they are increasingly using individualized merit pay, paired with incentive packages, to reward their most talented associates. The Law Journal highlighted Morrison Cohen's policies of awarding year-end bonuses based on an associate's performance, as well as paying associates 20 percent of the fees collected from business they originate.

Morrison Cohen Chairman and Managing Partner David A. Scherl told the Law Journal that, with base salary, merit bonuses, and business bonuses combined, Morrison Cohen's total associate compensation is more than competitive with large firms. "In many instances, our associates can find themselves getting paid at greater aggregate levels than they received at their predecessor large firm employers," Scherl said.  In addition, he noted that the billable-hours target for a Morrison Cohen associate is 1,900 hours a year. "We actually don't want them to have 2,100 or 2,200 hours because we are trying to avoid burn out. Unlike our larger law firm competitors, we do not have a built in attrition rate".

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