Dechert bonuses based on performance requirement

Dechert announced its 2011 end-of-year bonuses for US associates just after Christmas, with a schedule of bonuses that broadly matches the standard set by Cleary Gottlieb, with a pro-rated bonus for first-year associates and a top payment of $42,500 for very senior associates. Since Dechert isn’t a lockstep firm, associates must meet a performance requirement in order to get the bonus. And while the firm doesn’t want its clients to think that there is an hours requirement, Above the Law opines that the seemingly complex system by which the firm measures performance can in reality be boiled down to a time standard with a few add-ons and extras. For example, the firm will dock the bonus of any associate that didn’t input their time, on time, throughout the year.

Dechert bonuses based on performance requirement abovethelaw.com Mon, Jan 16, 2012