Cahill Gordon & Reindel has become the first firm to match Milbank’s 2026 special bonuses in full, ending a summer-long standoff. The real question is whether anyone else moves before Cravath does.
Cahill Gordon & Reindel has told associates it will match the special bonuses Milbank announced on July 27, making it the first firm to copy the Milbank scale outright, according to Above the Law.
The executive committee’s memo thanked associates for their “extraordinary efforts,” which is firm-speak for “we know what you billed.”
The payouts land on October 15. The scale, as reported by the ABA Journal, is identical to Milbank’s. And see our earlier LawFuel report on the BigLaw salary scale here.
| Seniority | Cahill special bonus |
|---|---|
| First year | $6,000 |
| Second year | $10,000 |
| Third year | $15,000 |
| Fourth year | $20,000 |
| Fifth year and above | $25,000 |
Nobody should be surprised it was Cahill
Cahill has a long habit of overpaying its associates, and it can afford to. Citing Bloomberg Law, Above the Law reports the firm is heading for a third straight year of revenue growth after booking $502 million last year, with profits per partner near $6 million in 2025.
At those numbers, declining to match would have been the story.
Why everyone else is sitting on their hands
Milbank has now paid special bonuses for three straight summers, per the ABA Journal, on top of the June raise that took first-year salaries to $235,000.
Milbank’s own bonuses were payable by August 31. Yet through most of September, the Above the Law scorecard showed only partial or bespoke responses, such as Otterbourg’s flat $20,000 for all class years.
The reason is simple: last year’s precedent. In November 2025, Cravath folded Milbank’s summer special bonus scale into its year-end announcement, and the market followed Cravath.
Most managing partners have learned that the cheapest time to match a special bonus is when you are already announcing year-end ones. Paying in September buys goodwill. Paying in December buys the same thing with three months of interest.
What it means for associates
For associates at other lockstep firms, Cahill’s move is leverage, not a guarantee. One full match makes the Milbank scale look like market rather than an outlier. Expect the bulk of BigLaw to settle the question in its year-end memos, and expect associates to read those memos very closely for the words “special bonus.”
The lesson of 2026 so far: Milbank sets the price, Cravath sets the timing, and Cahill sets the example nobody else is in a hurry to follow.
