The thorny issue of summer associate salaries is in full bloom as California firms question whether to bestow on the student visitors the same extravagant raises announced this year for lawyers they’ve actually hired.
Thus far, only one firm has made that leap. Los Angeles-based Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has announced it will pay its summer help $2,400 a week, based on its first-year associate base pay of $125,000. Last year, summer help at Gibson, Dunn and its main competitors pulled in a weekly wage of about $1,850.
