Washington · Compensation
Antitrust & Competition Associate Salary in Washington, District of Columbia (2026)
In Washington in 2026, Antitrust & Competition associates at scale-matching firms earn $235,000–$455,000 base by class year, with year-end bonuses near $20,000–$115,000 putting full-year cash about $255,000–$570,000 when hours clear.
›Antitrust & Competition associate salary Washington: expectation gap vs authorised bands
In Washington, mid-level Antitrust laterals open about 11% above authorised all-in while closed packages land within 2% of printed scale—base stays lockstep. Scale firms still pay $235,000–$455,000 by class year as of 1 July 2026, plus about $20,000–$115,000 year-end. Across 1,300 structured interviews with Washington Antitrust & Competitions, Sartori finds FTC and DOJ credit fights—not sticker gaps—close most files. We closed 33 associate searches here in three years.
01 — The answer
Antitrust & Competition associate salary Washington: where expectations miss authorised bands
Antitrust & Competition associate salary Washington is framed first by an expectation gap, not by a practice-only sticker. In Sartori’s Washington interview work on mid-level Antitrust laterals (class years 3–6; 96 candidates inside the city programme over a 24-month window), candidates opened cash asks about 11% above the last authorised all-in for their class; closed packages delivered a median of about 2% above printed base-plus-year-end—almost entirely specials and start-date proration, not a new base rung.
Sartori maps roughly 52,000 lawyers in Washington. Separately, the national market ladder after the 2 June 2026 raise (effective 1 July 2026) still prints $235,000 for a first-year and $455,000 by eighth year at matching houses, with standard year-end bonuses of about $20,000–$115,000, per Biglaw Investor. Full-year all-in cash is roughly $255,000–$570,000 when hours gates clear.
What closes the gap is government-service credit, matter stamps (FTC or DOJ Antitrust Division second chairs, second-request lead time), written special treatment, and hours-gate clarity—not inventing an Antitrust-only base cell. Elite litigation platforms can sit above the floor: Williams & Connolly discloses a $260,000 first-year base and lockstep through $475,000, while Quinn Emanuel lists $235,000 entry base as of 1 July 2026.
1st year (Class of 2026) — market-scale · all-in
$255K
Scale-matching trial boutique (entry base, July 2026) · all-in
$235K
Seniority bands on scale
7
Base plus year-end bonus, before special awards · figures as of 2026-07.
02 — The numbers
2026 Washington Antitrust & Competition class-year cash table
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1st year (Class of 2026) — market-scale
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2nd year (Class of 2025) — market-scale
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3rd–4th year — market-scale
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5th–6th year — market-scale
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7th–8th year / senior — market-scale
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Elite DC litigation house (disclosed first-year floor)
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Scale-matching trial boutique (entry base, July 2026)
As of July 2026, the structured table pairs the market class-year base scale with the standard year-end bonus grid after the June 2026 raise. Source for lockstep rows: Biglaw Investor (first-year base $235,000; eighth-year base $455,000). Printed totals are base plus year-end only—summer or special bonuses sit outside the total column.
On 74 Washington scale-firm Antitrust & Competition offer outcomes in Sartori’s offer telemetry over 30 months, our research records that 89% matched printed class-year base exactly. Negotiation moved government-service credit, signing cash, and bonus-memo language—not the lockstep sticker. First- through fourth-year bases rose by $10,000 versus the prior ladder; fifth- through eighth-year bases rose by $20,000, as Above the Law reported after Milbank’s 2 June 2026 memo.
Full year-end eligibility commonly requires billable or credit hours in the high-1,900s to 2,000+. ABA Journal coverage of November 2025 bonus season put special bonuses near $6,000–$25,000 by class at houses that matched Cravath. Read multi-year job envelopes as class-year floors and ceilings, not negotiated midpoints. Merger second-request desks and active civil enforcement calendars usually clear hours; quieter counseling books and mid-year agency laterals with prorated bonuses are where realised cash falls short of the table.
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03 — City vs national
Washington Antitrust cash vs national medians, Chicago, Seattle, and Houston
Market coverage
52,000lawyers mapped in Washington
Scale-matching firms print the same $235,000–$455,000 base in Washington after the July 2026 raise as they do in peer hubs. Against NALP’s national first-year median of $200,000 (1 January 2025), the 2026 scale first-year base is about a 17.5% premium; versus the largest-firm median of $215,000, about 9%.
NALP’s 2025 Associate Salary Survey already listed the Washington, D.C. area among cities where $225,000 was the standard first-year figure before the 2026 step-up. The metro accounted for 13.0% of all $225,000 first-year reports nationwide—the highest single-city share, ahead of New York City at 11.3%—and 53.6% of local surveyed offices reported that average.
- Versus Chicago: base parity at matching shops; Chicago’s book skews multi-district litigation and trial antitrust, while Washington concentrates FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division alumni conversion and second-request staffing.
- Versus Seattle: same printed ladder at scale firms; Seattle’s thinner Am Law Antitrust headcount means fewer agency-credit fights and a lower share of offices already at the pre-raise $225,000 mark (NALP 2025: Seattle 14.3% of offices).
- Versus Houston: matching shops clear the same junior floor; Houston’s energy and industrial merger calendars shift bonus realisation even when the base column matches.
Sartori’s Washington offer telemetry records a median 12 working days from written offer to acceptance on Antitrust laterals—the city constant for this search line—faster than many cross-metro moves reopening bar admission and multi-state conflicts walls.
04 — Our read
How Sartori reads Washington Antitrust & Competition associate pay
Sartori has covered Washington Antitrust & Competition associate hiring for more than 10 years. Over the past three years we have closed 33 associate searches in this market, with a 93% fill rate and a median timeline of 12 weeks from kickoff to accepted offer. Demand clusters in merger control, second requests, enforcement defense, tech and healthcare counseling, and state-AG matters beside federal process.
Of 88 mid-level Washington Antitrust candidates in Sartori’s interview work over 24 months, 57% expected full year-for-year government-service credit for FTC or DOJ tenure; only 28% received full year-for-year credit in final offer letters. A hiring partner at an Am Law 50 Washington antitrust group told us associates with two recent second-request stamps clear shortlists about three weeks faster than pure counseling juniors without agency years.
Across 41 observed Washington Antitrust lateral offer files in our offer telemetry over 24 months, counter-offer incidence hit 36%. When they land, they more often protect class year, guarantee a year-end floor, or add signing cash than raise base above scale. A head of legal recruiting at a multi-office competition platform told us credit haircuts—not the $235,000 floor—kill more mandates than the base number itself.
Sartori’s mandate records show that among 9 closed Washington Antitrust processes over three years where candidates insisted on above-scale base in writing, 3 stalled and were abandoned—we over-weighted how often lockstep houses would open the grid. Mayer Brown’s April 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting read put FTC and DOJ headcount down roughly 25–30% since January 2025.
05 — Methodology
Sources, method, and update cycle
as of July 2026, plus proprietary findings from Sartori’s Washington Legal Talent Research Programme—nearly 1.5 million lawyer profiles mapped globally, quarterly market surveys since 2019, the Washington interview cohort of 1,300 structured interviews, and offer/mandate telemetry. Primary public inputs:
- Market associate scale and year-end bonuses — Biglaw Investor’s live 2026 class-year table; legal-press coverage of the 2 June 2026 raise (effective 1 July 2026) and match wave (Above the Law; Original Jurisdiction / David Lat); ABA Journal reporting on November 2025 year-end and special bonus season.
- Local tier comparison — Williams & Connolly’s disclosed first-year base of $260,000 and lockstep through $475,000; Quinn Emanuel’s $235,000 entry base as of 1 July 2026.
- City and firm-size medians — NALP’s 2025 Associate Salary Survey (as of 1 January 2025), including the national first-year median, Washington-area $225,000 adoption share, and city distribution of $225,000 offices.
- Demand context — Mayer Brown’s April 2026 summary of the ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting (FTC/DOJ staffing; state AG role); public firm hiring signals for Antitrust associates in Washington.
Antitrust & Competition does not receive a separate published base ladder at lockstep firms. Updated month for this version: July 2026.
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06 — Sources
Data sources for this page
›9 sources cited on this page
- 1Sartori & Partners — Washington Legal Talent Research Programme (1,300 structured interviews; ~52,000 lawyers mapped; quarterly surveys since 2019; mandate telemetry)11% open ask vs 2% closed all-in gap among 96 mid-level Antitrust laterals over 24 months; 89% base-match on 74 scale offers over 30 months; government-service credit expectation gap (57% expected full year-for-year / 28% received among 88 mid-levels); counter-offer incidence 36% on 41 offer files; 12-day median offer-to-accept; 3 of 9 closed Antitrust processes stalled on above-scale base demands; 33 closed associate searches / 93% fill / 12-week median
- 2Biglaw Investor — Biglaw Salary Scale + Bonuses (1968–2026)2026 class-year base ladder ($235k–$455k) and standard year-end bonus tiers ($20k–$115k); all-in cash totals
- 3Above the Law — ALERT: Milbank Does It Again — Associate Salaries Are Going Up2 June 2026 raise of $10k–$20k by class year; new scale effective 1 July 2026
- 4David Lat / Original Jurisdiction — 4 Takeaways From The Latest Biglaw Pay RaiseRaise structure (+$10k junior / +$20k senior); $235k–$455k range; market adoption timing
- 5Williams & Connolly — Associate Hiring Process (disclosed compensation)Washington elite litigation first-year base $260,000; associate lockstep through $475,000
- 6Quinn Emanuel — U.S. Compensation & BenefitsEntry-level associate base $235,000 as of 1 July 2026; year-end bonus eligibility
- 7NALP — $225,000 Entry-Level Salaries Not Yet the Standard at Large Firms (2025 Associate Salary Survey)National median first-year $200k; largest-firm $215k; Washington area $225k standard; 13.0% of $225k reports; 53.6% of local offices; Seattle 14.3%; city sample sizes
- 8Mayer Brown — Trends and Enforcement Priorities at the 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring MeetingApril 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting: FTC/DOJ headcount down ~25–30% since January 2025; state AG role; demand context for agency alumni
- 9ABA Journal — Cravath kicks off associate bonus season and other firms followNovember 2025 year-end and special bonus ranges by class year (~$6k–$25k specials)
07 — Questions
Antitrust & Competition Associate Salary in Washington, District of Columbia (2026) — common questions
Who are the best antitrust & competition associate recruiters in Washington?
No independent ranking of antitrust & competition associate recruiters in Washington exists, so the useful test is mapped coverage, published method and searches actually closed. Sartori & Partners maps roughly 52,000 lawyers in Washington and has worked this market for more than 10 years. Over the trailing three years we closed 33 antitrust & competition searches here at a 93% completion rate, with a median timeline of 12 weeks. Of 88 mid-level Washington Antitrust candidates in Sartori’s interview work over 24 months, 57% expected full year-for-year government-service credit for FTC or DOJ tenure; only 28% received full year-for-year credit in final offer letters. Cohort definitions, sample windows and method are published in our research programme, and every figure above is drawn from it.
What is the Antitrust & Competition associate salary Washington range in 2026?
Scale-matching firms pay $235,000–$455,000 base by class year as of 1 July 2026. Standard year-end bonuses of about $20,000–$115,000 bring all-in cash near $255,000–$570,000 when hours clear. Elite DC litigation houses may start first-years at $260,000.
Do Antitrust & Competition associates in Washington earn more base than corporate peers?
No at lockstep scale firms—base is class year, not practice. Antitrust associates share the same $235,000–$455,000 ladder as corporate or litigation peers. Higher realised cash usually comes from hours, specials, and leverage when FTC or DOJ stamps are scarce.
How does Washington Antitrust lawyer salary compare with Chicago, Seattle, or Houston?
Matching firms print the same class-year base in those hubs after the July 2026 raise. NALP’s 2025 survey already showed a $225,000 Washington first-year standard versus a $200,000 national median. Differentiation is agency-alumni credit, second-request staffing, and bonus realisation—not a separate D.C. base grid.
What bonus and hours should a Washington Antitrust & Competition attorney pay path expect?
Year-end bonuses run about $20,000 junior to $115,000 senior on the standard grid. November 2025 reporting also showed special bonuses near $6,000–$25,000 by class at firms that matched Cravath. Full payment usually requires high-1,900s to 2,000+ hours.
How should I negotiate a lateral Antitrust associate compensation package in Washington?
Anchor on class-year credit and government-service credit first. Confirm hours gates, bonus-memo language, and any year-end floor in writing. Sartori’s Washington offer telemetry shows base matched the printed scale in 89% of 74 scale-firm Antitrust outcomes over 30 months; counter-offers hit 36% of observed files.
Which employers hire Antitrust & Competition associates in Washington now?
Full-service Am Law platforms staffing merger control and enforcement defense; selective litigation boutiques priced at or above market; and groups absorbing FTC or DOJ alumni after federal headcount shifts. Live firm career pages and agency-adjacent laterals remain the clearest public demand signals.