Elite litigation firm Susman Godfrey has taken the lead in the associate salary race, topping the new market rate set by Cravath, Swaine & Moore by $5,000 at each pay level. The first-year base pay rate at Susman Godfrey moves to $195,000, which is $5,000 more than Cravath's $190,000.

The firm's partners approved the new salary scale on June 23 while attending a retreat in Seattle.

Susman Godfrey has taken the lead in the past in associate salaries and bonuses. Two years ago, when Cravath set a new market rate of $180,000 for first-year lawyers effective July 1, 2016, Susman Godfrey moved to $190,000. And the firm paid larger year-end bonuses as well.

After approving the new scale, the firm notified its 43 associates of the salary increase with the following message:

“The partners are pleased to announce that effective July 1, Susman Godfrey associate salaries will be increased to an annual amount that will exceed the “Cravath scale” by $5,000 at every level of associate seniority.”

The partners also told its associates that the salary increases will not affect consideration of year-end bonuses. Cravath announced it would pay a special summer bonus ranging from $5,000 to $25,000. But Neal Manne, one of Susman Godfrey's managing partners, said the litigation boutique does not pay midyear bonuses. Manne said bonuses will be paid in December as usual and are likely to exceed bonuses paid by big New York firms.

On June 4, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy started the salary hikes by announcing a $190,000 starting salary for first-year associates. A week later, Cravath matched but agreed to pay more for mid-level and senior associates.

The Cravath scale ranges from a $190,000 base pay for the class of 2017 to $340,000 for associates in the class of 2010. The comparable new Susman Godfrey salaries are $195,000 to $345,000.

Manne said Susman Godfrey exceeded the new market scale because “our associates deserve it.”

The first-year associate compensation at Susman Godfrey largely applies to summer associates, since the firm requires all associates to do a federal clerkship as a condition of employment. That means that most of the associates would start work at the firm at the second-year level of $205,000 annually under the new scale.

In addition to paying at the top of the scale, the firm's partnership track is only six years, and five years for associates who clerked at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Susman Godfrey has offices in Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle.