Goodwin is matching the Milbank associate salary scale and awarding year-end and special bonuses, giving its most senior eligible associates as much as $140,000 under the standard bonus schedule. The raises, however, will not take effect until January 1, 2027.

The Top 20 Am Law firm announced the compensation changes to associates on Tuesday, according to Above the Law. The decision comes roughly five months after Milbank launched the latest round of Big Law salary increases in June. Goodwin is not alone in delaying implementation: Ice Miller also matched the scale with a 2027 effective date.

Under Goodwin’s new U.S. base salary schedule, associates in the class of 2026 will earn $235,000. Pay rises to $245,000 for the class of 2025, $270,000 for 2024, $320,000 for 2023 and $385,000 for 2022. Associates in the 2021 class will receive $410,000, those in the 2020 class will receive $440,000, and the class of 2019 and more senior associates will earn $455,000.

The firm’s class-year bonuses range from $20,000 to $115,000, supplemented by special bonuses of $6,000 to $25,000. The special awards follow the scale Milbank introduced over the summer.

Combined standard bonuses by class year are:

- 2025: $26,000 - 2024: $40,000 - 2023: $72,500 - 2022: $95,000 - 2021: $115,000 - 2020: $130,000 - 2019 and more senior: $140,000

To qualify, associates must have recorded 1,950 ARC hours during the fiscal year that ended September 30 and met the firm’s Attorney Development Frameworks. As in prior years, not every associate will receive a bonus.

Some associates could receive more than the standard class-year amount. Those who billed “significantly more” than 1,950 hours, as well as fourth-year and more senior associates who received a “Distinctive” rating, will get additional amounts.

Newer hires face a different outcome: associates hired after August 31 are ineligible for a bonus, including a prorated payment, because the fiscal year closed on September 30.

Associates will learn their individual awards in January, ahead of the payroll that will include both the raises and bonuses. The announcement marks an earlier disclosure than last year, when Goodwin departed from its customary January timing and announced bonuses in mid-December.