Selendy Gay Tops Big Law Rivals With New Associate Bonus Scale – Bloomberg Law

New York-based Selendy Gay Elsberg is outdoing larger law firm rivals on the associate bonus front, handing out seniority-based awards as high as $126,500.

The bonuses, which start at $16,500 for the most junior associates, will be paid Dec. 23, the firm announced Thursday. Most Big Law firms, including several of Wall Street’s elite, have announced bonuses ranging from $15,000 to $115,000.

Selendy Gay associates may also receive additional bonus money based on a “holistic assessment of performance and commitment to the firm,” according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg Law.

Litigation has been on the rise this year, benefiting trial boutiques such as Selendy that compete with larger firms. The increase in work is due to courts slogging through case backlogs that stacked up during Covid-19-related stoppages.

Baker McKenzie was the first large firm to roll out associate bonuses, followed by Boies Schiller Flexner;
Cravath, Swaine & Moore; McDermott Will & Emery; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. More are expected to follow, likely matching the same $15,000-to-$115,000 scale.

Boutiques Susman Godfrey; Wilkinson Stekloff; and Reid Collins & Tsai have also beat out their Big Law competitors on year-end bonuses. Susman is doling out a median of $160,000 in extra pay for its most senior associates.

Selendy Gay launched in 2018, spun off by a group of partners at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. Co-managing partners Jennifer Selendy and David Elsberg were elevated to named partners in February, alongside litigators Faith Gay and Philippe Selendy. The firm’s name was changed to Selendy Gay Elsberg.