New York’s legal elite is gearing up for the end-of-year bonus battle sparked by a special award from Sullivan & Cromwell this month, as Wall Street associates prepare for the first bonus review since the US deal upturn of 2003.

The New York legal market is awash with speculation over whether the traditional end-of-year bonuses will go up from the current $17,500 (£9,570) to $35,000 (£19,140), a rate that has remained largely frozen since the corporate slowdown of 2001.