Biglaw - Should Bonus Be the Same the Year of Maternity Leave?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you got full pay for 6 months, a raise and a pro-rated bonus and you are pissed? Did you also get a fall bonus while you were on leave like some firms have paid this year? And did you really “meet” your hours with billable work or are you including client development and other (non-pro bono) firm hours which associates at most firms can now tack on to meet their minimum hours? Honestly, as a female partner in a big law firm who took my last maternity leave over 10 years ago I find the sense of entitlement of younger attorneys astounding. Get over yourself and move on OP.

I am OP: People like this are why I am posting anonymously on a message board rather than asking about my firm’s bonus policy. There is a written policy and it specifies pro rating for people who join the firm mid-year or take an “approved leave of absence.” Elsewhere in the HR handbook, “approved leave of absence” is defined as “unpaid leave from the firm.” Since the most common kind of leave is ML/PL, the bonus policy should just say “pro rating applies for mid-year laterals and those who take any leave, to include ML/PL.”

I lateraled from the government in 2018 and no one at the firm explained the bonus policy to me or that apparently there is discretion to award less to associates for seemingly no reason.

I received a number of job offers when I left government for the private sector. If I had realized my total compensation would be what it was for 2020, I would have taken a different job offer. My firm offers 14 weeks ML. I think this is fine. Given that Fed employees now get 12 weeks, this is far from generous.

14 weeks is a lot less than most big international law firms are giving these days. Most give 6 months so it sounds like your firm is below market OP. If you received several offers, that’s on you for not asking first before making your decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you got full pay for 6 months, a raise and a pro-rated bonus and you are pissed? Did you also get a fall bonus while you were on leave like some firms have paid this year? And did you really “meet” your hours with billable work or are you including client development and other (non-pro bono) firm hours which associates at most firms can now tack on to meet their minimum hours? Honestly, as a female partner in a big law firm who took my last maternity leave over 10 years ago I find the sense of entitlement of younger attorneys astounding. Get over yourself and move on OP.

I am OP: People like this are why I am posting anonymously on a message board rather than asking about my firm’s bonus policy. There is a written policy and it specifies pro rating for people who join the firm mid-year or take an “approved leave of absence.” Elsewhere in the HR handbook, “approved leave of absence” is defined as “unpaid leave from the firm.” Since the most common kind of leave is ML/PL, the bonus policy should just say “pro rating applies for mid-year laterals and those who take any leave, to include ML/PL.”

I lateraled from the government in 2018 and no one at the firm explained the bonus policy to me or that apparently there is discretion to award less to associates for seemingly no reason.

I received a number of job offers when I left government for the private sector. If I had realized my total compensation would be what it was for 2020, I would have taken a different job offer. My firm offers 14 weeks ML. I think this is fine. Given that Fed employees now get 12 weeks, this is far from generous.

You are making the same as when you were in the government?! That sucks!

Any firm that hands out a 15k bonus that is considered “low” is most assuredly not paying OP less than she made with the government. Also the fact that she just started with the firm in 2018 might have something to do with how her bonus was handled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So the rule is men get full bonuses and moms do not?

You realize people are posting their experiences from a variety of firms right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the rule is men get full bonuses and moms do not?

You realize people are posting their experiences from a variety of firms right?

I am PP. I was being a little purposefully incendiary. I hate this attitude that I see everywhere that dads deserve high compensation because they have to pay for their family's needs, but moms who demand appropriately high compensation are being greedy, entitled, selfish, [add negative descriptor of your choice], etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you got full pay for 6 months, a raise and a pro-rated bonus and you are pissed? Did you also get a fall bonus while you were on leave like some firms have paid this year? And did you really “meet” your hours with billable work or are you including client development and other (non-pro bono) firm hours which associates at most firms can now tack on to meet their minimum hours? Honestly, as a female partner in a big law firm who took my last maternity leave over 10 years ago I find the sense of entitlement of younger attorneys astounding. Get over yourself and move on OP.

I am OP: People like this are why I am posting anonymously on a message board rather than asking about my firm’s bonus policy. There is a written policy and it specifies pro rating for people who join the firm mid-year or take an “approved leave of absence.” Elsewhere in the HR handbook, “approved leave of absence” is defined as “unpaid leave from the firm.” Since the most common kind of leave is ML/PL, the bonus policy should just say “pro rating applies for mid-year laterals and those who take any leave, to include ML/PL.”

I lateraled from the government in 2018 and no one at the firm explained the bonus policy to me or that apparently there is discretion to award less to associates for seemingly no reason.

I received a number of job offers when I left government for the private sector. If I had realized my total compensation would be what it was for 2020, I would have taken a different job offer. My firm offers 14 weeks ML. I think this is fine. Given that Fed employees now get 12 weeks, this is far from generous.

OP sounds kind of intense and angry. I'm sure you're awesome at your job, but try to slow your roll a bit. I worked in Big Law for 6 years before going in-house, and law firms are better than most employers when it comes to maternity benefits and overall compensation. For your own mental health, I recommend just focusing on all the good things you have going for you, rather than quibbling about a pro-rated bonus (when, in fairness, you did not bill time the full year and others would be subsidizing you).

[Anonymous]

It's interesting that OP is comparing her leave with the 12 weeks federal employees now get. That policy has been in place less than a year. OP should remember that when she was in federal government, all she was entitled to was using her sick leave or going on short term disability.

[Anonymous]

OP, given the policy at your firm, I think you should ask your peers if they received their full bonus. A PP is right that many employers used the pandemic this year as an excuse to cut rewards - even if they were not financially harmed. If others received their full bonus, then I would contact HR first to ask how your bonus was calculated as it is not the full pro-rated amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So you got full pay for 6 months, a raise and a pro-rated bonus and you are pissed? Did you also get a fall bonus while you were on leave like some firms have paid this year? And did you really “meet” your hours with billable work or are you including client development and other (non-pro bono) firm hours which associates at most firms can now tack on to meet their minimum hours? Honestly, as a female partner in a big law firm who took my last maternity leave over 10 years ago I find the sense of entitlement of younger attorneys astounding. Get over yourself and move on OP.

I am OP: People like this are why I am posting anonymously on a message board rather than asking about my firm’s bonus policy. There is a written policy and it specifies pro rating for people who join the firm mid-year or take an “approved leave of absence.” Elsewhere in the HR handbook, “approved leave of absence” is defined as “unpaid leave from the firm.” Since the most common kind of leave is ML/PL, the bonus policy should just say “pro rating applies for mid-year laterals and those who take any leave, to include ML/PL.”

I lateraled from the government in 2018 and no one at the firm explained the bonus policy to me or that apparently there is discretion to award less to associates for seemingly no reason.

I received a number of job offers when I left government for the private sector. If I had realized my total compensation would be what it was for 2020, I would have taken a different job offer. My firm offers 14 weeks ML. I think this is fine. Given that Fed employees now get 12 weeks, this is far from generous.

OP sounds kind of intense and angry. I'm sure you're awesome at your job, but try to slow your roll a bit. I worked in Big Law for 6 years before going in-house, and law firms are better than most employers when it comes to maternity benefits and overall compensation. For your own mental health, I recommend just focusing on all the good things you have going for you, rather than quibbling about a pro-rated bonus (when, in fairness, you did not bill time the full year and others would be subsidizing you).

Lawyers at big law firms are supposed to be intense and frankly have to care about compensation because those are the rules of the playground. More power to you OP.

I would raise the issue of your bonus, but do it smartly. Don’t talk to HR. HR has no power and just exists to protect the firm from getting sued. I would discuss with a partner (maybe some one more junior or who knows you better). My approach with that person would be: I am a little disappointed with my bonus. Should I be or do I get the right amount? Is there anything I can do to change it?

[Anonymous]

If you only worked 2/3 of the year why would you expect a typical bonus? The people who did your work while you were gone should get that extra bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is NOT typical at my spouse’s big law firm. They have taken two full parental leaves for both our kids, and while the billing requirement was prorated, the bonus was not (still got 100% both years) because they still met the billing requirement for the prorated hours. Otherwise, it seems like you’re being penalized for having a child and taking leave (yes, I realize while you are on leave that you aren’t making money for the firm).

That's a fairly absurd way to look at this situation.

[Anonymous]

As a father I took a week off and my employer literally went through the effort to reduce my bonus by 1/52. They 500 bucks they saved was not worth the amount of frustration they caused me. Caused me to make a few calls and now I have another job paying much better.

[Anonymous]

To boil it down here:

1. If the firm has a written policy that clearly covers this situation, of course the OP should take steps to make sure it was followed.
2. In the absence of a clear policy, and if we are all looking at what "should" happen, then no of course OP should not receive a bonus for work she did not perform. This is the whole point of a distinction between base pay and bonus. The pay is an entitlement of employment, the bonus is a reward for work performed.

[Anonymous]

OP, does your firm have a set minimum bonus for each associate year, or are you basing your estimate of what you should have gotten on market for your graduating year?

[Anonymous]

My law firm has a bunch of policies about comp, but through chatting with peers I have learned that the policies are not applied uniformly. Some people who don’t make hours get a market bonus anyway. Or are awarded an “extra” discretionary bonus that is almost the same as the automatic bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again. It’s true that I still would have taken maternity leave knowing I was going to get a 2/3 bonus. But I would not have worked so much to hit the pro rated hours requirement. I would have just done the minimum to have a respectable year and been fine getting no bonus.

Issue 2 is that I still don’t understand why I got such a low bonus. Even pro rated, my bonus should be about 40k. Not 15k.

OP, how long have you been in big law? In most firms, there is no “respectable year” where you don’t hit minimum billable requirements (even on a pro rated basis). If you’d done less than your minimum, you could be looking at a potential lay off rather than a bonus that’s smaller than you expected.