First-Year Associate Pay Tracker
9 of the 32 Am Law 100 firms we could verify pay a first-year base of $235,000 or more now, and 4 more have announced it for 2027.
Last checked October 30, 2026.
| Firm | First-Year Base | Status | Class Scale | Date Matched | Source | Last Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latham & Watkins LLPAm Law 2 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: $225,000 to $435,000
| Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| DLA Piper LLP (US)Am Law 3 | $235,000Memo says 2027 and gives no day. Not retroactive to July 2026. | Announced | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Oct 30, 2026 | Firm Memo | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLPAm Law 5 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: $225,000 to $435,000
| Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Baker McKenzie LLPAm Law 8 | $225,000New York. Posted Oct 27, 2026. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Job Posting | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLPAm Law 10 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Jones DayAm Law 15 | $240,000Most US offices. $235,000 in Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit and Minneapolis. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| McDermott Will & Schulte LLPAm Law 16 | $235,0002,000 hours. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Jun 2, 2026 | Above the Law Scorecard | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Norton Rose Fulbright US LLPAm Law 19 | $235,0001,900 hours. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Jun 30, 2026 | Above the Law Scorecard | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLPAm Law 20 | $235,0002,000 hours. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Jun 4, 2026 | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Goodwin Procter LLPAm Law 21 | $225,000Class of 2025. PDF lists no Class of 2026. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Cooley LLPAm Law 24 | $235,000 | Effective Jan 1, 2027 | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Oct 16, 2026 | Firm Memo | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Sullivan & Cromwell LLPAm Law 25 | $235,000 | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Jun 26, 2026 | Above the Law Scorecard | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Mayer Brown LLPAm Law 27 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Milbank LLPAm Law 28 | $235,000 | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Jun 2, 2026 | Firm Memo | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Covington & Burling LLPAm Law 30 | $225,000US offices. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLPAm Law 31 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLPAm Law 32 | $225,000US offices. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Troutman Pepper Locke LLPAm Law 33 | $235,000First through fourth years only. | Effective Jan 1, 2027 | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Sep 17, 2026 | Above the Law Scorecard | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Debevoise & Plimpton LLPAm Law 35 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Dechert LLPAm Law 39 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Reed Smith LLPAm Law 40 | $225,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Alston & Bird LLPAm Law 44 | $225,000Los Angeles entry level posting. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Job Posting | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| K&L Gates LLPAm Law 48 | $225,000Charlotte entry level posting, fall 2027 start. Posting says pay is set during the interview process. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Job Posting | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Winston Taylor LLPAm Law 49 | $225,000US payroll. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLPAm Law 50 | $225,000New York. Low end of the firm's stated scale. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLPAm Law 61 | $215,000Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, DC. Other offices $175,000 to $200,000. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Hunton Andrews Kurth LLPAm Law 64 | $225,000New York. Posted Sep 21, 2026. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Job Posting | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Katten Muchin Rosenman LLPAm Law 66 | $235,0002,000 hours. Firm page states the summer rate. | Pays Now | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Jun 4, 2026 | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Fenwick & West LLPAm Law 69 | $235,0001,950-hour track. Lowest step of the firm tier scale. | Effective Jan 1, 2027 | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Memo | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Crowell & Moring LLPAm Law 86 | $215,0002,000 hour track. 1,900 hour track starts at $195,000. | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Williams & Connolly LLPAm Law 87 | $260,000 | Undated Page | Class Scale: Not yet posted | Date Matched: Not yet posted | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
| Susman Godfrey LLPAm Law 92 | $240,000 | Pays Now | Class Scale: $240,000 to $450,000
| Date Matched: Jun 9, 2026 | Firm Page | Checked Oct 30, 2026 |
Year-End Bonuses
| 2026 Year-End, DLA Piper | $20,000 to $115,000Announced Oct 30, 2026, the first 2026 year-end memo we found. Paid Dec 24, 2026 to associates at 2,000 hours by Nov 30. Source |
|---|---|
| 2026 Special, Cahill | $6,000 to $25,000Announced Sep 24, 2026. Paid Oct 15, 2026. Source |
| 2026 Special, Milbank | $6,000 to $25,000Announced Jul 27, 2026. Paid by Aug 31, 2026. Source |
| 2025 Year-End, Cravath | $15,000 to $115,000Announced Nov 18, 2025. The scale other firms matched last year. Source |
How This Tracker Works
A firm appears only when we opened a source that states its figure: the firm’s own page, a job posting from the firm, or a firm memo reproduced in the press. Each row names which one. We do not assume a firm pays the market scale, and we leave out figures from surveys, salary sites and reports of a match that we could not confirm. This covers public firm facts only and is not a list of every Am Law 100 firm, so a firm missing here has not been shown to pay less.
“Pays now” means the source shows the figure in effect today. “Effective” means the firm has announced it for a later date. “Undated page” means the firm’s page states the figure but gives no date, so confirm it with the firm. “Not yet posted” means the source does not give that detail, and we never fill it with an estimate.
The guide to the salary scale explains how base pay, class years and bonuses fit together, and Pay compares what a salary is worth by city.
Firms can send a correction to hello@biglawbear.com.