The powerful litigation law firm of Susman Godfrey announced this week that its associate bonuses will rival those of other law firms across the country. The law firm issued bonuses in 2010 that rivaled those of other firms across the country as well. The holiday party thrown by the law firm of Susman Godfrey is legendary, even though the party is not that old, and it is catered by renowned chef Daniel Boulud, according to Above the Law.
Founding partner Stephen Susman provided the media with the bonus information. The law firm is handing out bonuses of $40,000-$100,000 for its associates. This bonus scale rivals those of Cravath and Sullivan & Cromwell, which begin at $7,500 and end at $37,500 for Cravath and $42,500 for Sullivan & Cromwell.
Just like 2010, the very bottom of the Susman bonus scale is higher than the top of the Cravath bonus scale. By looking at these scales, you can figure that the most-junior level Susman associates are bringing home larger bonuses than the most-senior level associates at Cravath.
According to some associates at Susman, they are incredibly happy with their year-end bonuses for 2011. Some of them are bringing home anywhere from $30,000-$40,000 more than their colleagues over at Cravath.
It seems that the policy on compensation for associates at Susman deals with spreading the wealth to those who aided in generating that revenue for the law firm. Susman told the media that the law firm had an excellent year financially in 2011 and he wanted the bonuses handed out to associates to reflect that financial success of the firm. The firm has a track record of excellent bonuses, as this is not the first time bonuses such as this size were handed out.
The law firm has 90 lawyers to its name and is known in the industry for the large bonuses it hands out. Back in 2000, the law firm handed out bonuses to their associates that equaled their salaries. The bonuses ranged from $114,000 to $165,000. In 2010, the associates at Susman received bonuses that ranged from $45,000 to over $100,000. The firm has offices in Dallas, New York City, Seattle and Los Angeles.
The firm also announced that it had promoted two new partners. Two associates in the firm were eligible to become partners and they were awarded accordingly. The two new partners are Robert Safi and Chanler Langham, both residents of Houston. Safi and Langham both received$110,000 bonuses for becoming partners, while other associates on the partner track received bonuses based on their quality of work, their hours worked, and their seniority.
Safi is a graduate of the University of Texas School of Law and was a clerk for Judge Vaughn Walker. Langham is a graduate of the Columbia Law School and was a clerk for Judge Vanessa Gilmore.