Chadbourne & Parke plans to award a lump sum payment in early 2010 that would give back to associates and staff money the firm previously cut from their paychecks. In April, the firm trimmed U.S. employee salaries by an undisclosed amount in an effort to reduce expenditures and avoid further cuts after laying off 25 attorneys a month earlier. At the time, Chadbourne promised employees they could recoup all or part of the reduction in a bonus depending on the firm’s financial performance.
In a sign of economic improvement, a spokesman said Wednesday that the firm will be giving the bonuses to associates and staff after all. The decision, until now unreported, was announced internally in late September. “While we thought the economic climate was still less favorable than we would like, we believed conditions in the legal marketplace were improving,” a spokesman said. Chadbourne pays associates in the same range as other large New York firms, with associate salaries starting at $160,000. Around the same time the bonus decision was announced, Chadbourne deferred indefinitely half of its incoming associates based on a review of departmental needs. - Nate Raymond
ABA, State Bar Support Civilian Trial for Alleged 9/11 Terrorists
