A few days after Vinson & Elkins announced a new associate salary scale that boosted the first-year starting salary to $160,000 in Texas, the managing shareholder at Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin met with the firm’s Texas associates to talk money.

Wayne Risoli says he told the associates the firm will not match V&E’s salary scale, but it will increase associate base salaries in 2007 and will put more money into the pool used to pay year-end bonuses.