Just when large Philadelphia firms thought they were closing the starting salary gap with their New York counterparts, along comes Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom. The Manhattan law firm giant announced last week that it was raising first-year associate wages at all offices from $107,000 to $140,000.
The Skadden move comes on the heels of announcements by Davis Polk & Wardwell and other New York firms that they will raise starting base salaries to $125,000 to keep up with the hefty hikes by Silicon Valley firms that were trying to compete with technology companies who are swiping their best mid-level associates.
