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Mid-term UK law firms offer lawyers a higher bonus to working long hours as they try to find ways to compete with deeper out-of-pocket rivals in wages.
London-based Simmons & Simmons, RPC and Shoosmiths have launched and updated their policy to reward lawyers to claim more time.
According to an internal memo seen by the Financial Times, Simmons offers 25% to 40% salary bonuses to peers who have recorded over 1,800 billable times this year. Associates must record a minimum of 2,100 hours of billing time to receive the maximum amount.
The company has joined many British outfits offering performance bonuses to increase discretionary payments without increasing wage levels after the war for talent has significantly boosted the salary of junior lawyers.
Attorneys charge hourly for clients’ work, but work far more hours than they charge. This means that a 2,000 billable hour amounts to working more than 12 hours on a regular basis. Simmons had already offered “discretionary” bonuses for extra hours being charged, but has changed the scheme starting this summer that quantifies the exact amounts junior lawyers can earn.
Simmons said the change was “central part of our efforts to develop and maintain talent.”
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The UK law firm RPC has also made changes to the bonus awards that came into effect on May 1, allowing associates to earn an additional 30% of their salary with additional billable hours. Previous bonuses concluded with 20% of their salary.
The company said associates should record at least 1,575 hours. It consists of at least 1,500 billable hours and a 5% salary bonus for up to 75 hours of “investment hours” such as a pro bono. The bonus increases by 1% for every 25 hours of additional hours.
Antony Sassi, managing partner at RPC, said the change is “a more modern, inclusive, sustainable approach to rewards, something that appears to reflect the evolving expectations of the next generation of legal talent.”
After the “special bonus” splate linked to the Pandemi-era Bonanza, companies are becoming more creative about who line up with the bonus. The elite law firm massacre and the option of not increasing the salary of junior lawyers this month, holding the salary of newly qualified lawyers at £150,000.
The intermediary business moves risk rekindling concerns about junior lawyers burnout that have come to mind during the Covid-19 crisis. Shoosmiths, which has offices across the UK, introduced a bonus scheme for associates who spend extra time, but set a cap at 1,900 hours to avoid “working for anyone to spend too much time chasing bonuses without a cap.”
The program allows associates to earn up to 19% of their pay, relying on company performance. The bonus starts with a rechargeable time of 1,485, with the first set being paid in July 2026.
CEO David Jackson said the scheme is part of the company’s ambition to become “a major midwest law firm by 2030.”
Several international law firms, including Herbert Smith Freehills and Linklater, have long offered extra bonuses for more billable times. HSF’s UK associates are expected to reach 1,700 billable hours per year, with 1,800 people receiving bonuses and more time to be billed, according to one person with knowledge of the situation.
Linklaters offers high-value “confusion bonuses” to fellow members who claim high-value, aimed at rewarding junior lawyers who have worked particularly long hours in a year, according to people with program knowledge. Both companies declined to comment.
