Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Compensation Decision Aids: How Better Guidance Evolved

By James D. Cotterman
February 27, 2006

Editor's Note: Having invited Jim Cotterman to write an A&FP article based on his recent Altman Weil(r) seminar on “internal and external equity” in compensation decisions, I was delighted to see that his introduction can also be read as a highly interesting short history of law firm compensation preoccupations over the last two decades. I therefore found the article doubly thought provoking, and expect that readers will have the same response.

When I began consulting 18 years ago, compensation advisory services focused primarily on benchmarking. We would look at market data, find comparables, refine study data to adjust for timing differences, and determine appropriate compensation ranges. This latter focus was partly due to the nationwide run-up in associate starting salaries and law firms' attempts to deal with those market forces and the system-wide compression they created.

This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The Bankruptcy Hotline Image

Recent cases of importance to your practice.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

How AI Has Affected PR Image

When we consider how the use of AI affects legal PR and communications, we have to look at it as an industrywide global phenomenon. A recent online conference provided an overview of the latest AI trends in public relations, and specifically, the impact of AI on communications. Here are some of the key points and takeaways from several of the speakers, who provided current best practices, tips, concerns and case studies.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.