Most law firms with year-end associate bonuses are sticking to a common scale. But several firms have also lined up additional premiums for high-performing lawyers, which some analysts say is generally a move reserved for a very select pool of people who managed to bill high hours despite a drop-off in demand this year.

The trend illustrates the contrast in law firms’ financial position between 2021 and 2022 and the uncertainty firms face heading into 2023. While a spate of law firms last year announced lockstep “special bonuses” for nearly their entire associate ranks, on top of year-end bonuses, such blanket additional bonuses have dried up in 2022.