Feeling light on inspiration, I’m indebted to The Wall Street Journal and Adam Smith, Esq for giving me something to get my teeth into with a prominent piece this week from The Journal. The article charts the dramatic increase in the size of pay packages being offered to star US partners and the related widening of the pay gap for partners, citing top-end packages in the $10m (£6.3m) region against $640,000 (£405,000) for the water-carriers.
Interesting nuggets in the article include the fact that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom last year widened the range between top and bottom-earners, while wide pay ranges are also highlighted at firms as disparate at Hogan Lovells, K&L Gates and DLA Piper. Packages for top partners cited include deals of $6m (£4m) at DLA Piper in the US and $8m (£5m) at Kirkland & Ellis. The Journal‘s claim is that the most sought-after rainmakers now often earn eight to 10 times that of the lowest-paid equity earners within the same firm.
