Salary benchmarks
BigLaw Associate Salary Scale 2026 (Cravath & Am Law)
The market base-salary ladder by class year — first-year through senior — with the year-end bonus scale and the lockstep mechanics behind it. Every figure is publicly documented and sourced. Current as of June 2026.
What a BigLaw associate earns in 2026
On the market (Cravath) scale, base salary runs from $225,000 in year one to $435,000 by year eight. Year-end bonuses push all-in cash for a senior associate past half a million dollars.
- $225,000
- First-year associate base salary on the 2026 Cravath scale (before bonus).
- Biglaw Investor; Cravath / Milbank announcements (2026)
- $435,000
- Eighth-year / senior associate base on the same scale, before bonus.
- Biglaw Investor; firm salary memos (2026)
- $550,000
- Approx. all-in cash for a senior associate — $435K base + $115K year-end bonus.
- Cravath year-end bonus memo, 18 Nov 2025
These are the standard market figures — the scale most AmLaw elite firms match. Individual firms can pay on, above or below it, and many AmLaw 100–200 firms pay a market-lagging or regional rate. See the full ladder and the sources below.
What our own openings feed says about the scale
The published scale is one thing; what firms actually advertise is another. We checked the public ladder against our own live US associate openings that disclose a pay band — and the market corroborates it.
- $235,000
- Median advertised floor across 1,208 live US associate openings that disclose a band — exactly the published 2nd-year scale base.
- Sartori & Partners live openings feed (build-time)
- $365,000
- Median advertised ceiling on those same openings — the published 5th-year base, where most disclosed bands top out.
- Sartori & Partners live openings feed (build-time)
- $550,000
- Highest advertised ceiling in the set — the same all-in figure a senior associate reaches on the published scale.
- Sartori & Partners live openings feed (build-time)
That floor-to-ceiling band — roughly $235,000 to $365,000, derived live from 1,208 US associate openings that publish a salary, recomputed on every build — sits squarely on the Cravath ladder above. It is an independent check on the published numbers, not a separate scale: advertised associate pay tracks the lockstep market.
Where the associate seats actually sit
The scale is national, but the jobs are not evenly spread. Our market map of the major US & UK legal markets shows where associate seats — and the partners they answer to — physically concentrate. New York alone holds more associate headcount than the next two metros combined.
| Metro | Associates (mapped) | Partners (mapped) | Leverage (assoc/partner) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 13,630 | 13,645 | 1.00 |
| Washington DC | 6,472 | 7,542 | 0.86 |
| Los Angeles | 4,774 | 5,228 | 0.91 |
| Chicago | 3,897 | 5,060 | 0.77 |
| San Francisco | 3,556 | 3,513 | 1.01 |
Same base, different leverage. A first-year on the Cravath scale earns the same $225,000 base in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Chicago — but the pyramid underneath them varies a lot. San Francisco runs essentially one associate per partner (1.01); New York sits at parity (1.00); Chicago is markedly more partner-heavy (0.77). For a junior associate the pay is identical city to city, but the staffing depth, the route to responsibility and the partnership math are not — which is exactly the part the headline number hides. Figures: our market mapping, structural snapshot; see the sources below.
Base salary and year-end bonus, by class year
The market scale pays associates by class year — years out of law school — not by individual billings. Below: the standard 2026 base, the 2025-season year-end bonus, and the resulting all-in cash.
| Class year | Seniority | Base salary | Year-end bonus | All-in cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2025 | 1st year | $225,000 | $20,000 | $245,000 |
| Class of 2024 | 2nd year | $235,000 | $30,000 | $265,000 |
| Class of 2023 | 3rd year | $260,000 | $57,500 | $317,500 |
| Class of 2022 | 4th year | $310,000 | $75,000 | $385,000 |
| Class of 2021 | 5th year | $365,000 | $90,000 | $455,000 |
| Class of 2020 | 6th year | $390,000 | $105,000 | $495,000 |
| Class of 2019 | 7th year | $420,000 | $115,000 | $535,000 |
| Class of 2018+ | 8th year & senior | $435,000 | $115,000 | $550,000 |
Class years are illustrative for a typical 2026 cohort; a firm counts seniority by graduation year, so the “class of 2025” is the most junior. Bonus tiers compress at the senior end (the class of 2018 and earlier all draw the top $115,000 year-end bonus). Figures: Biglaw Investor and firm announcements, current as of June 2026.
How the lockstep market actually works
Large US law firms compete for the same small pool of top law-school graduates, so they pay a lockstep salary keyed to class year rather than to an associate’s individual revenue. The ladder is universally called the “Cravath scale” after the firm that long set it, though in recent cycles the first move has come from Milbank or Davis Polk. The pattern is consistent: a bellwether firm announces a new number, and within days a wave of peer firms “matches market.” That herd behaviour is exactly why a single scale describes pay across dozens of otherwise very different firms.
The current base ladder — $225,000 for a first-year rising to $435,000 for a senior associate — has been the market standard since the summer-2023 Milbank/Cravath raise. Cravath’s November 2025 bonus memo did not raise base pay, so the ladder carried into 2026 unchanged. Because the market moves all at once when it moves at all, treat these as the standing rate as of mid-2026; a new lead announcement can reset the whole ladder within a week.
Bonuses: the part that compresses at the top
Base salary is only part of the package. Each autumn the market sets a year-end bonus scale, and most scale firms match it. Cravath set the most recent one on 18 November 2025, running from roughly $20,000 for the junior class to $115,000 for the class of 2018 and senior. Crucially, the bonus ladder compresses at the senior end — every class from 2018 back draws the same top bonus — so the percentage uplift on base shrinks as associates become more senior.
- Junior associates (classes of 2024–2025) see the largest relative bonus: roughly $20,000–$30,000 on a $225,000–$235,000 base.
- Mid-level associates (classes of 2021–2023) earn $57,500–$90,000 in year-end bonus on a $260,000–$365,000 base.
- Senior associates (class of 2018 and earlier) draw the capped $115,000 year-end bonus, taking all-in cash to roughly $550,000 — before any special or spring bonus.
In record years, firms layer an additional special / spring bonus on top of the year-end scale, and a minority of elite litigation boutiques deliberately pay above market to recruit and retain. Conversely, many AmLaw 100–200 firms pay a market-lagging or regional rate that can sit $20,000–$60,000 below scale at the senior levels — which is why “BigLaw salary” is a band, not a single number.
Does the scale change by city?
For the AmLaw elite, largely no. Firms on the Cravath scale generally pay the same base in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston and Houston, because they are competing for the same candidates regardless of office. The meaningful variation is not geographic but firm tier: scale-matching firms versus the larger field of firms that pay below it. For a market-by-market and role-by-role view across the wider legal profession — in-house, compliance and legal operations included — see our US legal salary & compensation benchmarks.
What the headline number leaves out
Comparing offers on base alone is a mistake associates make often. Before you weigh a lateral move on the salary line, also read:
- Billable-hour expectations and bonus eligibility. Some firms gate the full bonus behind an hours threshold; a slightly lower base with an easier path to full bonus can pay more.
- Class-year credit. A lateral move can advance — or quietly set back — your class year, which on a lockstep scale directly changes your pay band.
- Partnership track and de-equitisation risk at the firms you are choosing between, which matter far more than a year-one base difference.
- Practice-group health and platform fit — the things that determine whether you are still thriving at the firm in five years.
That is the analysis a specialist legal recruiter runs with you, in confidence, before any firm sees your name. If you are weighing a move, our associate & attorney recruiting practice and our guidance for associates exploring a move are the place to start.
A note on accuracy — and on 2026 movement
Legal compensation is a fast-moving target. The base ladder above has held since summer 2023, but the salary war reignites whenever one bellwether firm breaks first — and the rest of the market follows within days. As of June 2026, there are reports of firms moving to raise base pay again; until a new scale is confirmed firm-by-firm and class-by-class, we will not publish unconfirmed numbers. We update this page when a lead firm sets a new, verifiable scale.
Every figure on this page is a publicly documented market figure, cited below with its source and date. Individual firms pay on, above or below the standard scale, and totals vary by hours, bonus eligibility and class-year credit. Use these as a benchmark, not a guarantee — and for a confidential read on where a specific firm or offer actually lands, speak with one of our recruiters.
Sources
- Biglaw Investor — “Biglaw Salary Scale + Bonuses (1968–2026)”: biglawinvestor.com/biglaw-salary-scale (base ladder $225K→$435K; 2025 year-end bonus scale). Accessed June 2026.
- ABA Journal — “Cravath kicks off associate bonus season and other firms follow” (year-end bonus scale set 18 Nov 2025): abajournal.com.
- Above the Law — 2025 Associate Bonus Scorecard / Tracker (market-match by class year; special bonuses): abovethelaw.com/2025/11/bonus-tracker-2025.
- BCG Attorney Search — “BigLaw Associate Salaries 2000–2026” (historical scale & regional variation): bcgsearch.com.
- Sartori & Partners — proprietary market mapping of the major US & UK legal markets (280,000+ mapped practising lawyers) and our live legal-openings feed. The metro associate/partner headcounts, the associate-to-partner leverage ratios and the live-validation pay figures ($235,000–$365,000 across 1,208 disclosed-band US associate openings) are derived from these and recomputed at build time. Structural snapshot, current as of June 2026 — no trend is drawn from it.
Compensation data is provided for general information only and is not financial, career or legal advice. Figures reflect the standard market scale as publicly reported and are current as of June 2026; actual pay varies by firm, market, class year, hours and bonus eligibility.
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BigLaw associate salary: FAQ
The questions associates and hiring managers ask most about the 2026 scale — answered, with the same content behind our FAQ structured data.
What is the BigLaw associate salary scale for 2026?
On the market (Cravath) scale, 2026 base salaries run from $225,000 for a first-year associate to $435,000 for an eighth-year/senior associate, before bonus. This ladder has been the market standard since the summer-2023 Milbank/Cravath raise and was confirmed unchanged into 2026 by Cravath's November 2025 bonus memo. Figures are the standard market scale; individual firms can sit on, above or below it.
What is the Cravath scale and why does it matter?
The Cravath scale is the lockstep pay ladder — associates are paid by class year (years out of law school), not individual billings. It matters because when one bellwether firm (historically Cravath, more recently Milbank and Davis Polk) sets a number, most large firms competing for the same graduates match it within days, so the scale becomes the de-facto national market rate for the AmLaw elite.
How much do first-year BigLaw associates make in 2026?
A first-year associate on the 2026 market scale earns a $225,000 base salary, plus a year-end bonus of around $20,000 for the most junior class — roughly $245,000 in total cash for the class of 2025. Some firms add a smaller mid-year/special bonus on top in strong years.
What are 2026 BigLaw associate bonuses?
Cravath set the most recent year-end bonus scale on 18 November 2025, running from about $20,000 for the junior class to $115,000 for the class of 2018 and senior, matched market-wide. Some firms layer an additional special/spring bonus in record years, and a minority of elite litigation boutiques pay above the standard scale.
Do BigLaw salaries vary by city — New York vs Los Angeles vs Texas?
For the AmLaw elite, mostly no. Firms on the Cravath scale generally pay the same base across major US markets — New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Boston and Houston — to compete for the same talent. The bigger variation is between scale firms and the many AmLaw 100–200 firms that pay a market-lagging or regional rate, sometimes $20,000–$60,000 below scale at the senior levels.
Will the BigLaw salary scale rise again in 2026?
The base ladder has held since summer 2023, and Cravath's November 2025 memo did not raise base pay. The market moves when a single bellwether firm breaks first and others match — so any 2026 increase would reset the whole ladder quickly. Treat the figures here as the standing market rate as of mid-2026; a new lead announcement can change them within days.
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