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Haynes and Boone Latest to Hike Associate Salaries in Texas
Texas Lawyer
August 08, 2007
Haynes and Boone partners planned on Tuesday to tell the Dallas-based firm's Texas associates their salary scale will increase, retroactive to Aug. 1, to the new market rate of $160,000 for first-year associates.
Haynes and Boone partner Terry Conner says the new salaries for second- and third-year associates will be $170,000; $180,000 for fourth-years; $190,000 for fifth-years; $200,000 for sixth-years; $205,000 for seventh-years; and $210,000 for eighth-year associates.
The firm plans to increase its associates' bonuses and alter the basis on which those year-end packages are calculated.
Specifically, Conner says, Haynes and Boone will offer bonuses of as much as $5,000 to first-year associates and as much as $70,000 to eighth-year associates. As in the past Haynes and Boone management will require associate classes, as a group, to achieve certain billable-hour totals for bonuses to be distributed.
For the first time, Haynes and Boone management has added individual billable-hour bonus goals into its computations.
Conner declines to detail the breakdown of the group-hours versus the individual-hours requirements, noting that Haynes and Boone management intends to use some discretion when applying the formulas.
For instance, if a Haynes and Boone associate has worked extensively on law review articles but not reached individual billable-hour goals, he or she may still receive a bonus, Conner says.
Haynes and Boone has 450 lawyers firmwide. Its Texas offices are located in Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio and Richardson.
Last Friday, Baker Botts also took the plunge, announcing a new, higher salary scale for Texas associates. The Houston-based firm moved to the new $160,000 Texas market rate for first-year associates, and $170,000 for second-year associates. With that new higher pay, first-year associates will not receive a bonus in 2007, but second-years will be paid $5,000 in bonus money at the end of the year for working at least 2,000 qualified hours. Third-years earn $172,500 plus an $11,500 bonus; fourth-years earn $175,000 plus a $22,500 bonus; fifth-years earn $180,000 plus a $31,500 bonus; sixth-years earn $185,000 plus a $38,000 bonus; seventh-years earn $190,000 plus a $40,000 bonus; and eighth-year associates earn $195,000 a year plus a $40,000 bonus for 2,000 hours worked.
Unlike the new salary scale announced by Houston-based Vinson & Elkins in mid-July, Baker Botts will not defer any of the base pay for upper-level associates who fail to work at least 2,000 qualified hours. The new pay scale at Baker Botts is retroactive to Aug. 1.
The V&E plan defers some of the salary for third-year lawyers and up, with those associates required to bill at least 2,000 hours to earn the full base salary. At V&E an eighth-year associate who bills 2,000 hours will earn $260,000 annually in base salary and a bonus ranging from $12,500 to $45,000.
