New York, June 2, 2026, 14:07 EDT
Milbank LLP pushed up associate pay to as high as $455,000 on Tuesday. McDermott Will & Schulte said it would match soon after, setting off another round of pay hikes among top U.S. law firms.
Big Law associate pay usually goes up in clusters. When one major firm changes the pay scale, others often follow or risk losing junior lawyers and lateral hires.
The move follows a slow period for base pay. Top firms kept salaries in a $225,000 to $435,000 band by class year, while both annual and special bonuses shifted across the market last year.
Milbank has moved its base pay up to a range of $235,000 to $455,000 before bonuses. Bloomberg Law reported raises of $10,000 to $20,000, based on years at the firm. Above the Law also reported the same pay bump for associates.
Associates are lawyers at top firms who aren’t partners, and most get paid under a lockstep system where salaries go up with each class year, not by negotiation. So when firms bump salaries, the cost jumps for all – not just one associate – because it moves the whole pay scale.
Milbank has set pay for associates before. Reuters reported in 2021 that the New York firm was first to move in earlier pay cycles, like the 2018 increase that competitors matched. Bloomberg Law said Milbank started the modern salary jumps for associates in 2016.
Cravath, Paul Hastings and other top-paying firms are in focus. Cravath, which often leads on pay, started 2025 year-end bonuses in November with payouts as high as $140,000. Paul Hastings matched that scale soon after, according to Reuters.
McDermott’s response carried more heft this time, as it’s now a different firm than last year. The merger with Schulte Roth & Zabel wrapped up in August, forming McDermott Will & Schulte. The combined firm has about 1,750 lawyers, runs more than 20 offices and posted over $2.8 billion in 2024 revenue.
McDermott’s merger moved it up in New York, where pay sends a signal. “New York has always been the prize,” Harvard Law School’s David Wilkins told Reuters after the deal. Reuters
But the match could take a while. NALP’s newest salary survey put the overall median first-year associate pay at $200,000 as of Jan. 1, 2025. Just 32% of law firm offices said they offered $225,000, pointing to a slow spread of market pay outside the top group.
NALP Executive Director Nikia Gray said the market is “not moving as quickly” now that the talent wars have cooled off. That warning is still relevant. Firms that aren’t in the top profitability tier may stick with bonuses that can be adjusted, instead of locking in higher salaries.
Rising costs weigh on U.S. law firms despite demand. Law firms saw higher demand and raised their billing rates in the first quarter but did not post big gains as expenses and weaker productivity dragged down results. Bryce Engelland at Thomson Reuters Institute said things were “still looking good” but advised firms to keep an umbrella handy. Reuters
For associates, this is simple: the top salary peg just went up again. But for firms, the question is tougher—is matching Milbank a must for hiring, a message to the market, or both?
