Abracadabra! Biglaw bonus announcements are magically appearing in associates’ inboxes left and right, and the latest firm to unveil a bonus scale is Clifford Chance.
Last year, the firm took in $3.25 billion in gross revenue and now they’re sharing the good fortune with associates. Today, Clifford Chance sent a memo to its U.S. associates announcing the firm will be matching the Cravath scale, complete with Milbank’s summer bonuses. Here’s what that looks like at the firm:
Bonuses will hit bank accounts on January 15, 2026. Congratulations to everyone at Clifford Chance!
Remember everyone, we depend on your tips to stay on top of compensation updates, so when your firm announces or matches, please text us (646-820-8477) or email us (subject line: “[Firm Name] Bonus/Matches”). Please include the memo if available. You can take a photo of the memo and send it via text or email if you don’t want to forward the original PDF or Word file.
And if you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Bonus Alerts (which is the alert list we also use for salary announcements), please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the bonus alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each bonus announcement that we publish. Thanks for your help!
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.