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On Friday, the law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP announced its end of year bonuses. The announcement revealed a scale that will surpass the one set forth by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP for employees who worked at least 2,100 billable hours earlier this year.
The scale released by Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP has a range of $7,500 to $37,500. The most senior associates at Cravath are those that were hired in 2004. Those associates are receiving the $37,500 bonuses.
The bonuses handed out by Quinn Emanuel will range from $6,375 to $62,000 for its associates. The bonus for an associated will depend on the associate’s seniority and the hours he or she worked in 2011.
The 2007 class at Quinn Emanuel will be receiving bonuses ranging from $18,750 to $40,000. The 2006 class will be receiving bonuses ranging from $23,625 to $46,500. The 2005 class will be receiving bonuses ranging from $28,500 to $46,500. Veteran associates at the law firm will receive bonuses ranging from $32,250 to $62,000.
The drop in earnings to roughly 95 percent for the firm of Susman Godfrey LLP caused its year-end bonuses to range from $40,000 to $110,000. These numbers are slightly lower than last year’s bonus scale. Quite a few law firms have announced their plans for year-end bonuses over the past month, with many more expected to hit the public over the next week or so as we get closer to 2012.
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According to Above the Law, first-year associates at Quinn Emanuel will be receiving bonuses ranging from $6,375 to $23,500. The bonus for first-year associates will depend on the amount of hours they worked this year. A $6,375 bonus will go to those who worked under 2,100 hours this year while a bonus of $23,500 will go to those who billed 2,800 hours or more this year. Bonuses ranging from $9,000 to $27,000 will be given to second-year associates. Bonuses of $13,875 to $33,500 will be issued to third-year associates.
Associates from the class of 2003 at the law firms of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP 
, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP,
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Clifford Chance LLP
LLP LLP were said to bring home bonuses of $42,500 this year. These numbers prompted the firm of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP to increase its year-end bonuses to $42,500 from $37,500.
In 2010, Quinn Emanuel gave its lawyers 150 percent of the Cravath scale, but the additional 50 percent was not paid out until June. The firm did say that it would be handing out spring bonuses for this year but did not say anything about the bonus scale. The firm did say that it is going to meet bonuses handed out by other firms that brought competition to the firm. The bonuses handed out by Quinn Emanuel at the end of this year for its senior associates will exceed the bonuses going to senior associates at rival law firms.
Information researched from ABA Journal.
