Top US firm Cravath Swaine & Moore has announced its year-end bonuses, defying expectations that Wall Street’s elite firms would ditch annual bonuses in the face of the slowing US economy.

Cravaths, one of Manhattan’s highest-paying firms, will pay associate bonuses of between $20,000 (£14,170) and $50,000 (£35,420), depending on seniority. This constitutes a 50% cut on last year’s award.