Susman Godfrey is giving its associates year-end bonuses ranging from $140,000 to $360,000—tripling the market bonus at the highest end of the scale. The firm is also providing special bonuses on top of its annual traditional bonuses to every single one of its 270 employees, including its 131 non-attorney employees.

Susman Godfrey’s first-year firm associates will receive median bonuses of $150,000—exceeding the bonuses for the most senior associates at other firms that follow the market scale. SG’s most senior associates will receive median bonuses of $350,000, which is more than triple the top of the New York scale. The firm’s market-topping bonuses will be paid to all associates, who will also see bumps in their 2024 salary to match the New York scale.

“We are in a truly extraordinary moment in the 40-plus year history of the firm, with our highest-ever revenue and a record number of cases tried over the last year and a half,” said the firm’s managing partners Vineet Bhatia and Kalpana Srinivasan. “Susman Godfrey has long stood by its commitment to share collectively in our good fortunes, and this year, more than ever, we are thrilled we can do that for every single employee in our organization.”

The firm also elected to partner all six associates in its 2023 class, adding new partners in each of its four offices. These new additions to Susman Godfrey’s equity-only partnership are:

  • Michael Adamson (Los Angeles)
  • Jillian Hewitt (New York)
  • Katy Peaslee (Seattle)
  • Steven Seigel (Seattle)
  • Hunter Vance (Houston)
  • Krisina Zuñiga (Houston)

Susman Godfrey sets bonuses based on partnership class (rather than graduation year) and has provided the median bonus by partner year below.

Partner
Year

Median Bonus by
Partner Year

 

Number of Years at Firm

2023

$350,000

6

2024

$310,000

5

2025

$270,000

4

2026

$230,000

3

2027

$195,000

2

2028

$150,000

1

 

The median bonus based on law school class is reflected below:

Grad Year

Median by Comp Year

2014

$350,000

2015

$330,000

2016

$310,000

2017

$295,000

2018

$230,000

2019

$195,000

2020

$195,000

2021

$150,000

 

Susman Godfrey also announced an increase in its associate salary scale as follows:

Associate Graduation Year

Salary

 2016+

$435,000

2017

$420,000

2018

$390,000

2019

$365,000

2020

$310,000

2021

$260,000

2022

$235,000

2023

$225,000

 

ABOUT SUSMAN GODFREY

Susman Godfrey is a nationwide law firm of 170 trial lawyers. We handle high-stakes litigation for both plaintiffs and defendants in a broad range of practice areas and industries. Susman Godfrey’s attorneys are known for finding a fee arrangement—contingent, flat, hourly, or hybrid—that best suits a client’s case. With a relentless focus on winning at trial, Susman Godfrey is recognized as American Lawyer’s National Boutique Litigation Firm of the Year and for thirteen consecutive years has been named by Vault as the nation’s leading litigation boutique. Visit www.susmangodfrey.com to learn more about our unique approach to winning cases.