McKool Smith, the Texas-based complex trial boutique, is matching the new Milbank salary scale, delivering associate raises of between $10,000 and $20,000 depending on class year.
The firm has built a reputation for rewarding associates generously, having previously made waves with Thanksgiving bonuses, supersized year-end payouts, and prompt responses to market-wide salary movements.
The updated pay scale runs from $235,000 for first-year associates all the way up to $455,000 for those in the class of 2018 and above.
The decision to match Milbank’s scale puts McKool Smith in line with a growing number of firms that have followed the market leader’s compensation structure in recent months.
However, there is one notable caveat attached to the announcement that associates will be paying close attention to in the coming period.
The effective date for the new salaries is January 1, 2027, which puts McKool Smith several months behind the July 1 date that most firms matching the Milbank scale have adopted.
That gap means associates at the firm will be waiting considerably longer than their peers at other matching firms before the raises actually appear in their paychecks.
The delay is unlikely to go unnoticed among associates who are aware that colleagues at rival firms have already begun receiving the higher compensation.
McKool Smith’s track record of competitive pay will offer some reassurance, given the firm’s consistent history of stepping up when the broader market has moved on salaries.
For now, associates will simply have to wait until January to enjoy the full benefit of a salary structure that the broader Big Law market has already largely embraced.
The move nonetheless reinforces McKool Smith’s position as a firm that takes associate compensation seriously, even if the timing of this particular announcement leaves something to be desired.