What is the average weekly salary for summer associates at biglaw firms Forum

[Anonymous User]

I want to work as a summer associate for a big law firm in the DC area. What is the average salary for summer associates in big law firms? Is there a significant difference in pay between the more prestigious big law firms and the the more middle tier firms?

[HillandHollow]

https://www.nalpdirectory.com/

[TestAccount12345]

It should be the starting associate salary divided by 52. So firms on the Cravath scale tend to pay precisely $3,653.85/week. Some firms round up to $3700 or $3750. A couple (ex. K&E, Reed Smith) apparently pay slightly above market for unknown reasons - $3,958.50. Not sure about firms that pay below market since I didn’t apply to those. I imagine a place like Wachtel or W&C would pay more since their starting salary is higher but someone who works there should confirm.

[QContinuum]

It should be the starting associate salary divided by 52. So firms on the Cravath scale tend to pay precisely $3,653.85/week. Some firms round up to $3700 or $3750. A couple (ex. K&E, Reed Smith) apparently pay slightly above market for unknown reasons - $3,958.50. Not sure about firms that pay below market since I didn’t apply to those. I imagine a place like Wachtel or W&C would pay more since their starting salary is higher but someone who works there should confirm.

I understand Wachtell pays summers on the Cravath scale. Wachtell associates make (lots) more not because their base pay is higher, but because they receive ginormous bonuses (commensurate with a similarly ginormous number of hours worked).

I'm surprised to hear Reed Smith pays summers above Cravath. I understand their full-time associates make below the current Cravath scale.

In the end, I wouldn't base any decision on where to summer on SA pay. It's only 8-10 weeks in the grand scheme of things (or 12 at the maximum, though it's pretty rare to find 12-week gigs these days). Much more important to find a firm that's a good "fit," and that pays actual market. Most firms that claim to pay Cravath actually don't pay Cravath because they attach hours requirements to bonuses that many/most associates fail to meet.