Steptoe allows associates to choose own billing targets, pay for 2025

Steptoe’s new pay system for associates offers an alternative approach for law firms trying to keep up with the industry’s wealthiest players while addressing work-life balance concerns.

The firm’s associates can now choose their own billable hour targets and corresponding compensation. The policy will take effect in the new year. Those selecting the highest target—2,200 billable hours per year—can earn up to nearly $582,000 on a seniority-based scale exceeding that in place at top Big Law firms.

“To my eyes, this is the way of the future,” said Kate Reder Sheikh , a recruiter at Major, Lindsey & Africa who places associates.

“It’s not going to get rid of the one thing that drives people away from Big Law, which is the need for constant availability, but it will mean fewer nights and weekends being disrupted.”

Steptoe leaders said the change came after soliciting feedback from associates.

“We heard a lot of different things from associates about what they’re looking for at different points in their careers,” Kate Cappaert , chair of Steptoe’s professional development committee, said in an interview.

“We are recognizing that each associate’s experience is different and providing each associate flexibility in a structured format to allow them to take more control of their career path.”

Steptoe associates beginning next year will be placed in one of three pay categories based on the volume of hours they are expected to bill, Cappaert said. They have the option to move to a lower billable hour target and corresponding pay for 2025 and can opt for a different category each year.

Boies Schiller Tops Rival Bonuses as Some Surpass $1 Million

Boies Schiller Flexner LLP is topping rivals with year-end associate bonuses—some exceeding $1 million—as a firm leader said lawyers deserve a return for their work.

More than 95% of associates will get awards that match or exceed what they would earn under the scale of $21,000 to $140,000 set by Milbank and Cravath Swaine & Moore, Boies Schiller managing partners said in a memo reviewed by Bloomberg Law.

“We wanted to ensure that our lawyers who were working incredibly hard for our clients were getting an incremental return,” managing partner and chairman-elect Matthew Schwartz said in an interview, “as opposed to passing some arbitrary hours threshold.”

Boies Schiller is adding its twist on year-end awards after many elite firms have already announced plans to match the market scale. The market bonuses mean the most junior among associates are taking home $21,000 and the most senior are collecting $140,000.

The firm takes an individual approach in formulating associate bonus amounts, weighing client business origination, hours worked, and payouts from contingency matters, Schwartz said. “Multiple” associates have done well enough under the calculation to take home seven-figure bonuses, he said.

New Hires Lead Paul Hastings’ Work on $6.7 Billion Deal

A team of recently hired partners led Paul Hastings ’ work advising food packaging company Pactiv Evergreen in its $6.7 billion acquisition by Apollo Global Management Inc.-backed Novolex.

The Paul Hastings deal team, announced alongside the deal, was led by M&A partners Eduardo Gallardo , Jonathan Kubek and Timothy Fesenmyer . The three partners joined the law firm in the past two-plus years, during a streak in which Paul Hastings has been among the most acquisitive law firms in the legal industry.

The Paul Hastings team worked across from Paul Weiss lawyers who advised Novolex, which was acquired by Apollo in 2022 from Carlyle Group Inc. Paul Weiss, which has strong ties to Apollo, also worked on that transaction. Paul Weiss partners Brian Finnegan and Brian Kim led the deal team advising on the latest deal.

Paul Hastings has hired from top rivals since firm Chair Frank Lopez took over in 2022, including adding at least three partners each from Kirkland & Ellis, Gibson Dunn, Latham & Watkins, King & Spalding, Weil Gotshal, and Cahill Gordon & Reindel.

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