Freshfields to pay bonus as normal as 'milestones' system is delayed

Bonuses for 2010 paid as usual as milestones to get soft launch

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has pushed back the launch of its new associate development framework to 2011 - with bonuses set to be paid out as normal in 2010.

Associates will see their next appraisal round in spring 2010 informally based around the firm's new 'career milestone' system; however, the outcome will have no effect on pay, bonuses or career progression.

Freshfields announced in July that it was taking its first step away from post-qualification experience as a means of grading lawyers by moving to a system dividing the associate career into three 'milestones'.

The system was due to be implemented in London over the summer and applied during the next appraisal round in 2010, when it was expected to have an immediate impact on bonuses.

Instead, it will now be formally rolled out globally in 2011, with the decision about how to link salary with the new structure to be made after this point.

Freshfields has already started consulting with international offices to work out how each jurisdiction will apply the model.

The new structure will see fee earners asked to meet specific criteria in order to move past each milestone. They will be assessed on seven core areas: technical skills; personal skills; client relationships; business advisory skills; business development; people and team skills; and project management, with the structure intended to inject greater transparency into associate development.

The first milestone is expected to be around two years after qualification, with the third a few years before partnership.

Human resources director Kevin Hogarth told Legal Week: "We have been talking with partners and associates to increase understanding of the milestones. We decided therefore it would make more sense to go through a soft launch in London and work towards more widespread formal adoption of the milestones across our international network in 2011."

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