Linklaters has announced that it is to pay all its staff a profits-related bonus worth £2,500.
The bonus will be paid out to the magic circle firm’s entire global staff, excluding partners. Staff based in the City will be paid £2,500, with an equivalent rate paid to workers in other offices.
The bonus, which will be paid out on 29 June, comes in addition to the firm’s announced salary increases for legal staff in London and on top of the performance-related bonuses of up to 40% that reward individual lawyers’ performance.
The figure, which is £100 higher than the profit-related bonus paid out last year, comes as the firm prepares to announce its financial results for 2006 – suggesting a strong performance by the firm.
City rivals have experience mixed fortunes over the last year, with firms including Ashurst announcing record increases in turnover of more than 20%. However, Lovells and CMS Cameron McKenna were among those to announce more sluggish growth, both charting rises in fee income of less than 10%. Herbert Smith, despite announcing a turnover rise of 12% for the last financial year, is expecting to see a dip in partner profits.
Are support staff getting a large enough slice of the profits bonanza? Click here to have your say with the Legal Week Wiki 2007 salary special.