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Thursday, September 13, 2007

Andrews Kurth Announces Pay Raises


Andrews Kurth announces raises for 3rd - 9th year associates and their bonuses for '07. Bonuses for '08 are still under review. Below is an article by the Texas Lawyer spelling out the entire pay structure.

Andrews Kurth Spells Out Raises, Bonuses for More Senior Associates

Brenda Sapino Jeffreys - Texas Lawyer
September 11, 2007

Texas associates with Andrews Kurth will get a big, fat paycheck in mid-September because of a new pay scale that's retroactive to Aug. 1.

Andrews Kurth, which has 110 associates in Texas and is based in Houston, became the latest BigTex firm to announce raises for its associates in the wake of a new market rate set by Vinson & Elkins in July. At that time, Andrews Kurth announced it would move to the new base salary rate of $160,000 for first-year associates and $170,000 for second-years, but the firm planned to study compensation for other associates.

On Aug. 31, Andrews Kurth announced results of that study. The firm's new associate salary scale will pay $172,500 to third-year lawyers; $175,000 to fourth-years; $180,000 to fifth-years; $185,000 to sixth-years; $190,000 to seventh-years; $195,000 to eighth-years; and $200,000 to ninth-years.

The firm will award discretionary year-end merit bonuses based on subjective and objective criteria, such as billable hours. The billable hours can include management approved nonbillable hours, firm-approved contingent-fee hours and up to 150 pro bono hours.

First-year associates at Andrews Kurth can receive a $5,000 bonus this year. Year-end bonuses this year for second-year associates will range from $5,000 for 2,000 hours to $15,000 for 2,300 hours. According to the new scale, third-year associates can receive up to $26,500 in bonus for 2,300 hours. It's up to $42,000 for fourth-year associates; up to $58,000 for fifth-years; up to $64,000 for sixth-years; up to $72,000 for seventh-years; and up to $77,000 for eighth- and ninth-years.

According to the salary scale, associates in their fourth year and up could earn bonuses for working fewer than 2,000 hours, but the bonuses would be relatively small. For instance, a fifth-year associate could earn a bonus of $4,000 for 1,800 hours or $6,000 for 1,900 hours, but the bonus could jump to $33,000 for 2,000 hours; $43,000 for 2,150 hours; and $58,000 for 2,300 hours.

"We said we are going to be competitive and this just confirms that," says Robert Jewell, the 400-lawyer firm's managing partner.

Jewell says bonuses for 2008 are under review.

Also on Aug. 31, the firm announced increased salaries for associates working at the firm's Washington, D.C., office.

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