Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton is the latest Atlanta-based firm to raise associate pay, following Troutman Sanders' move to do so earlier this month after several other Atlanta firms upped starting pay at the end of June.

Kilpatrick announced to its associates Friday that it is raising pay in all offices to match the new top starting salaries set in June.

That means Kilpatrick's starting salary for new associates in Atlanta and North Carolina will rise $10,000 to $165,000.

Starting salaries for Kilpatrick in California, New York, Washington, D.C., and Colorado will increase to $190,000. In Seattle, the pay for first-years in the intellectual property practice will also increase to $190,000, and starting salaries in other offices will increase by $10,000.

More senior associates also will see raises, “depending on the location, practice area, experience level and performance of the associate,” according to the memo that associates received on Friday. The raises will take effect Jan. 1, 2019, according to the memo, which was also given to the Daily Report.

Competitive compensation is a firm goal, the memo said, along with: hiring the best and brightest, delivering high quality training and professional development, offering challenging work, creating a collegial and inclusive environment, and offering advancement opportunities.

Kilpatrick does not anticipate raising billing rates as a result of the raises, the memo said. However, the firm is raising associates' minimum billable hour expectation by 50 hours to 1,950—which can include up to 50 hours of pro bono work. The increase in hours expectations also goes into effect Jan. 1. First-years also can include up to 250 hours spent on “core professional development activities.”

The firm also is increasing its associate bonus pool, and it will pay bonuses in January to those eligible based on the current review period from Sept. 1, 2017, through Aug. 30.

The latest wave of associate pay raises hit Atlanta at the end of June, when King & Spalding, Alston & Bird and Eversheds Sutherland matched the new national scales, starting at $190,000 for first-years in New York, California, Washington and other locations—and upped the top Atlanta pay scale $10,000 for first years to $165,000, with commensurate raises for existing associates. Those raises went into effect July 1.

Morris, Manning & Martin matched the new starting salaries with $10,000 raises for more senior classes, effective Aug. 1. The firm will make further adjustments at year end. Bondurant Mixson & Elmore also is raising associate pay, effective Sept. 1.

Troutman Sanders earlier in August announced it would match the new starting salaries, effective Sept. 1. The firm's other associates will receive individual raises after meeting with members of the firm's associate review committee.

Other national firms with Atlanta offices, including Jones Day, Paul Hastings, DLA Piper and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, also have matched the pay increases.