In-office massages, concierges, nanny finders, and yoga classes. For associates working during Big Law’s heyday, there were perks-a-plenty. As budgets tightened during the recession, these luxuries were the first to go, but according to the results of our 2011 Midlevel Associates Survey, they’re making a gradual comeback.
In the open-ended portion of our questionnaire, we asked associates what perks had been reinstated at their firms. While the perks associates mentioned were not as swanky as those enjoyed by lawyers, say, five years ago, associates’ responses show that even the smallest things count. There are better sandwiches at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld’s CLE lunches, according to one associate in Houston. Associates at Kirkland & Ellis now get breakfast in the mornings, plus, wrote one associate, “there’s mouthwash in the bathrooms. Seriously.” At Sutherland Asbill & Brennan in Washington, D.C., associates can choose from a wider selection of Flavia coffee flavors, and one Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher associate in D.C. received a birthday card from the firm for the first time in three years.
