Few subjects get tongues wagging in the legal market as much as pay. And this was certainly true when, in mid-2011, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer voted to break away from its traditional lockstep model in Asia.
With three years having passed since the decision was voted through, the possibility of a pay review looms for those Asian partners placed on sweetened deals. The three-year packages were understood to have given roughly two partners a guaranteed 30% top-up, over and above what they were due under a pure lockstep system.
