Pallas Partners Outpaced Biglaw Bonus Scales
Norma Harris
Pallas Partners, the transatlantic litigation boutique headed by power lawyer Natasha Harrison, that’s been quietly building a reputation with elite hires on both sides of the Atlantic has just dropped a compensation grenade into Big Law’s year-end bonus melee.
The firm’s associates and counsel will receive total payouts up to US$232,000, topping the now-standard Cravath scale and glaring at its larger rivals in the biglaw bonus season.
Pallas is matching the seniority-based bonus structure that New York’s Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP has set for the 2025 bonus season, meaning up to $140,000 in seniority bonuses plus supplemental amounts for high billers.
>> See the BigLaw Salary Scale Guide
On top of that, lawyers who hit steep hour targets (2,000+ and even 2,500+ hours) unlock extra cash awards of up to roughly $92,000, depending on class year.
That total still nudges slightly above what Pallas paid last year and well past most other boutiques and even some well-heeled Big Law players.
Firms like Wilkinson Stekloff and Dunn Isaacson Rhee have also been in the game with substantive payouts (up to ~$172k and ~$175k respectively), but Pallas’ combination of base, special and hours-linked bonuses sets a new target on the boutique map.
This move makes sense in context: Cravath historically dictates market bonus standards for major U.S. firms and rivals from Paul Hastings to Ropes & Gray and others have been quick to match or mirror that scale in 2025.
But there’s always room for an agile small firm to play spoiler, especially when it’s chasing top litigation talent across New York and London.
For more on how Pallas Partners is positioning itself as a nimble but competitive litigation force, read LawFuel’s profile of Pallas Partners here.
