Holland & Knight Increases First-Year Associate Pay by $20K in Miami
First-year associates in the Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Mid-Atlantic, New York and California offices saw their salaries rise to $190,000.
December 19, 2018 at 05:45 PM
3 minute read
(Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
Holland & Knight has bumped up starting salaries for associates in its South Florida offices by $20,000, pushing total salaries from $160,000 to $180,000.
The firm did not announce the 13 percent increase, which kicked in on Oct. 1, but confirmed the raise on Wednesday. First-year associates in the firm's Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Mid-Atlantic, New York and California offices got their pay bumped to $190,000. Salary levels for more senior associates were also increased in all markets.
“Associate salaries at many law firms have increased over the last few months,” Holland & Knight Managing Partner Steven Sonberg said in an email. “In response to these changes, Holland & Knight recently adjusted its compensation structure to ensure that it remains competitive and properly rewards its associates for their contribution.”
Greenberg Traurig currently pays first-year associates in Miami $165,000. Akerman, the third Florida AmLaw100 firm, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the Daily Business Review, the firm was paying associates in South Florida $140,000 in 2016—the last date for which salary figures for the firm are available.
The raise at Holland & Knight puts the firm's associate salaries on par with other Am Law 100 firms. In June, New York-based Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy announced associate salaries of $190,000. With the bar set, pay raise announcements started rolling in.
Joe Ankus of Ankus Consulting says firms regularly engage in salary brinkmanship to help with retention. Higher pay, in theory, makes a firm more attractive to better talent. But Ankus doesn't buy it.
“It became this surreal Kafkaesque bidding war for these 20-something associates that just graduated and have no experience,” said Ankus. “The fallacy about the bidding war is that there's still a tremendous amount of turnover.”
It's not uncommon, he said, to see attorneys with six years of experience with three different firms on their resume. Furthermore, the raises cut into a firm's bottom line, which means potential increases in fees for legal services.
The biggest caveat, said Ankus, is the student loan debt crisis. Students in the United State owe a combined $1.5 trillion to lenders. When faced with looming debt, the calculus changes for newly-minted attorneys.
“These kids have $300,000 worth of student loan debt and that's a problem,” Ankus said.
Related Stories:
The Associate Salary Race: A Survivor's Guide
Bump for New Associates: Holland & Knight Adds $10K to Starting South Florida Salaries
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Greenberg Traurig, Holland & Knight Leaders Expect AI Investments to Jump in 2025
5 minute read
Once the LA Fires Are Extinguished, Expect the Litigation to Unfold for Years
5 minute read
Adapting to AI and the Needs of Lawyers Will Be Key For Shutts & Bowen, Says Incoming Ft. Lauderdale Leader
8 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1South Florida Attorney Charged With Aggravated Battery After Incident in Prime Rib Line
- 2'A Death Sentence for TikTok'?: Litigators and Experts Weigh Impact of Potential Ban on Creators and Data Privacy
- 3Bribery Case Against Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Is Dropped
- 4‘Extremely Disturbing’: AI Firms Face Class Action by ‘Taskers’ Exposed to Traumatic Content
- 5State Appeals Court Revives BraunHagey Lawsuit Alleging $4.2M Unlawful Wire to China
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
