Will In-House Lawyers Benefit From Associate Raises?

As law firms across the country rush to raise their associate salary scale by $20,000 to 35,000, how will staff attorneys at corporate legal departments be affected?

Last week, a loyal reader suggested the raises may put pressure on in-house counsel to lift compensation for their own attorneys. Indeed, it is true that law firms provide corporate law departments with a steady flow of talent, and a salary raise for associates might make the transition in-house more difficult.

Still, the two worlds are in many ways separate, and no corporate legal department has trumpeted any announcements that it too was raising salaries. So we called around to ask how this has generally been received. ...