King & Spalding responded to Alston & Bird’s pay raise by making the same $15,000 increase to first-year associate salaries. Effective Jan. 1, 2008, the starting pay will be $145,000, but the firm made no similar announcements regarding senior associates’ pay. A firm spokesperson reported that K&S will “continue to evaluate” the pay structure for other levels of associates. Recruiters have ventured the guess that the firm quickly matched only the first-year salary rather than all levels in order to remain competitive during summer associate recruiting rush.
Source: www.law.com