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Law360 (September 15, 2020, 4:44 PM EDT ) Squire Patton Boggs LLP and Duane Morris LLP are rolling back salary reductions for both lawyers and staff, the firms confirmed Tuesday, joining a growing list of BigLaw firms to cut back on austerity measures enacted in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Starting in October, Squire Patton will restore associate salaries to their prepandemic levels and reverse base salary cuts for support staff and other nonpartners who are making less than $75,000, while those earning above that level will see their compensation reduction cut in half, the firm said in a statement to Law360.
In addition to restoring the salaries, the firm added that it will reward employees "who performed at extraordinary levels" during the reduced compensation period with a special bonus, and its existing bonus program will also remain in place.
"Thanks to the hard work and shared sacrifice of our attorneys and global staff, the impacts of the global pandemic on our business have been less severe than we reasonably anticipated," the firm's chairman and Global CEO Mark Ruehlmann said in a statement to Law360.
"While demand for our services has remained strong, we recognize that a fair amount of uncertainty remains in the months ahead," Ruehlmann added. "We will monitor circumstances closely to continue to act in the best interests of our clients and the firm."
Squire Patton confirmed a series of austerity measures on May 1, including reducing associate pay by 20% and reducing global support staff pay by 10% to 20%, with those in the highest-earning positions taking a larger reduction. The firm also adjusted partner profit distribution at an undisclosed amount and furloughed some staff who "are currently underutilized or are not able to perform their job remotely," it said.
In its statement to Law360 Tuesday, the firm noted that partners at Squire Patton will continue to "appropriately carry the largest financial burden" through an undisclosed amount of adjusted profit distributions.
Similarly, Duane Morris also confirmed Tuesday that it has already restored the compensation for nonpartner attorneys and staff to their prepandemic amounts at the beginning of the month.
In its statement to Law360, Duane Morris said it eliminated the 15% compensation reductions implemented in May for associates, special counsel and staff making more than $100,000.
Duane Morris had also deferred equity partners' distributions and redacted their year-end compensation by 25% in April, but the firm did not say whether that has changed as of Tuesday.
"The precautionary measures that we put in place at the beginning of the pandemic helped to ensure that Duane Morris remains strong through the rest of the year and beyond," the firm said in a statement.
Other firms have also rolled back austerity measures put into place earlier this year when many firms cut both salaries and staff due to the pandemic and associated economic upheaval. Since late July, many firms have either reduced those cuts or done away with them entirely.
On Monday, Mayer Brown LLP and Norton Rose Fulbright's U.S. offices confirmed that they will end pay reductions for both lawyers and staff by the end of the month. In addition to restoring the base salaries to pre-COVID-19 levels, Mayer Brown also said it will award an additional discretionary bonus this year to high-performing income partners, of counsel and associates.
Last week, Holland & Hart LLP confirmed it had returned all employees' salaries and equity partners' third-quarter profit distributions to their full amount, and reinstated its employee match to 401(k) contributions this month.
Also last week, Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC confirmed it had eliminated all salary reductions at the beginning of September, while Eversheds Sutherland confirmed its U.S. branch is restoring half of the 10% compensation cut it instituted in early May in response to the pandemic.
And on Sept. 11, Dentons confirmed that it would be partially rolling back its pay cuts and offering older business professionals and paralegals in the U.S. who have been with the firm at least 15 years the chance to retire early.
--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto. Editing by Alanna Weissman.
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