70% of US law firms plan to award pay raises or bonuses

In a new survey conducted by legal staffing firm Robert Half Legal, 70 per cent of lawyers polled said their law firms or corporate legal departments plan to award their associates pay raises and bonuses, while 15 percent said that no additional compensation would be given. The survey collected responses from 200 lawyers at the largest law firms and corporations in the United States. "After several years of staff reductions and salary freezes, employees who don't feel rewarded sufficiently may be considering other job opportunities," said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. "To avoid losing top talent, employers in the legal field increasingly are bolstering employee retention programs, including offering raises and bonuses." "The costs associated with recruiting and training new legal team members often outweigh compensation-related expenses for existing staff," Volkert added. "Firms with leaner budgets might offer non-monetary incentives, such as additional time off, flexible scheduling or telecommuting, as a way to improve employee satisfaction and reward hard work while also helping their organization's bottom line."

70% of US law firms plan to award pay raises or bonuses prnewswire.com Thu, May 19, 2011