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Lawyer Pay

Associates at this BigLaw firm can choose one of 3 billable-hour budgets

By Debra Cassens Weiss

December 9, 2024, 3:19 pm CST

Steptoe is adopting a new compensation system next year that allows associates to choose one of three different tracks based on hourly targets.

Pay varies based on the billable budget, Law.com reports. Full-time associates can choose one of these tracks, according to the article:

  • 1,800 billable hours with pay at their current compensation level, which appears to start at $215,000 for first-year associates, according to data cited by Law.com.

  • 2,000 billable hours with pay that begins at $225,000 for first-year associates and increases to $502,500 for eighth-year associates.

  • 2,200 billable hours with pay that begins at $236,250 for first-year associates and increases to $581,750 for eighth-year associates.

Gwen Renigar, the law firm’s chair, told associates in a note Friday that all three compensation scales have the same opportunities for promotion, the article reports. All three also include 200 hours of pro bono and nonbillable work.

Bonuses will be given for making the billable target and for exceeding it by a certain amount, Renigar told Law.com in an interview. There is also the possibility of a bonus for bringing in new business, Renigar said.

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Bar Exam

Utah considers allowing law grads to choose apprenticeship rather than bar exam

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 7, 2024, 1:21 pm CST

The Utah Supreme Court is seeking comment on a proposal to allow law grads to become lawyers without taking the bar exam.

The plan released Monday gives law graduates two options to obtain a law license: They can pass the bar exam, or they can complete “alternate path” requirements. Both options also require a passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.

Those who choose the alternate path must have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school within the last five years, must have successfully completed several listed law school courses, and must complete 240 “supervised practice hours” under a supervising attorney.

The Utah Supreme Court is inviting comments through Dec. 19, Reuters reports. The state supreme court acted in response to a 2023 proposal of its Bar Admissions Working Group.

One of the working group members is Catherine Bramble, a professor at Brigham Young University’s law school. She told Reuters that she hopes that the alternate path program “could be implemented as soon as next summer.”

Other states with apprenticeship pathways are Oregon, Washington and Arizona, according to Reuters.

See also:

Examining the Bar: Should law grads need to pass the bar to practice? Some say there is a better way

Bar exam does little to ensure attorney competence, say lawyers in diploma privilege state

Judicial task force will take deep look at legal ed, bar admissions