WilmerHale raised starting salaries for first-year associates to $160,000 in all of its domestic offices, firm co-chair William Perlstein confirmed. "Our belief is that we attract the best talent and want them to feel that they are compensated fairly in comparison with their classmates and colleagues at other top national firms," he says explaining the pay hike.
The move comes two weeks after Hogan & Hartson and Akin Gump boosted first-year pay to $160,000 from $145,000 in their D.C. offices. Although, more than 20 New York- and California-origin firms were already at that level here, Hogan was the first D.C.-origin firm to do so.
"We've been watching the market develop over the last several weeks," Perlstein says. "The fact is that no single law firm can swing the market away from the direction in which it is otherwise going."
Wilmer's raise is effective June 1st.
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