New York’s legal elite are preparing to hike year-end bonuses following the news that Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison have raised the benchmark for awards handed out to senior associates.

As exclusively revealed on legal-week.com, the pair last week set a rate for seven-year qualified associates of $60,000 (£30,954), with Simpson Thacher declaring its hand on 8 December and Paul Weiss following suit on 9 December.