Salaries at Skadden are based on a set lockstep scale.  The firm's above-average bonuses in 2008 made it a market leader for bonuses; from 2009-2011, however, the firm returned to following the market and awarded bonuses that matched Cravath’s scales.  Lateral Link Members are generally pleased with the firm’s “great” and transparent compensation, especially since the firm pays the New York market rate for salaries and bonuses across all of its U.S. offices.  Attorneys on part-time schedules are eligible for a pro-rated bonus equivalent to the percentage of full-time hours they bill, while those who do not hit the unofficial minimum hours target may still be eligible for a 50% bonus.  The firm typically pays bonuses in December.

Although Lateral Link Members say the firm offers “extensive” formal training, particularly for first-year associates, they believe that the most effective training takes place "on the job."  As one Member explains, “[T]he work that [associates] are permitted to do as a fourth-year . . . is what a tenth year or [a] partner would do at other firms."  However, in August 2011, the firm announced that all of its incoming first-year associates will be participating in a four-week long Fullbridge program, which teaches accounting and financial concepts as well as practical skills.  New York associates in the corporate department rotate through various practice areas during their first year.  Almost all Lateral Link Members report that they were able to choose the practice group they wanted to work for.  There is a staffing partner in each department who is responsible for distributing assignments, but Lateral Link Members report that most staffing occurs more informally, with associates getting work directly from partners with whom they develop a working relationship.  Most Members think that the firm’s staffing practices are fair, but a few complain that “it leads to unequal distribution of work” and it can be “feast or famine” at times.  Members say that associates are allowed to – or even expected to – take work in another department if their own department is slow.  While the firm has a formal mentoring program, Lateral Link Members report that it is not widely used, either because associates are not aware that it exists, or their mentors are not generally available to them.  Associates are reviewed twice during their first year, and annually after that.  All associates are given the opportunity to provide upward reviews as well. 

In 2009, the firm ranked 20th in MultiCultural Law Magazine’s “Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity” rankings.  Skadden was also named one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, receiving 100% on its 2010 Corporate Equality Index.  The firm has not publicly laid off any attorneys to date, although a few Lateral Link Members report that there have been a handful of stealth layoffs.  In 2009, the firm also expanded its voluntary deferral program, Sidebar, which was originally intended for attorneys with family obligations, to all associates.  Known as Sidebar Plus, associates are given the opportunity to pursue personal or professional interests for one year with the option to return to the firm at the end of that year, and participants in the program are provided with a stipend, student loan deferral and assistance with COBRA benefits.  In terms of quality of life, the firm was ranked among the top 20 firms in Vault’s 2012 “Best Law Firms to Work For” list.  While some Lateral Link Members criticize the firm for being “too focused on the bottom line,” most Members agree that morale at the firm is “good” and that the firm is managed well.

Lateral Link Members generally agree that there is no pressure to put in face time, and say as long as associates are “available and responsive,” “all that matters is that you get your work done on time and that you do a quality job on it.”  Still, a few Members point out that “if you want to work with a specific partner, face time helps.”  The firm provides four weeks of annual vacation, and vacation days will automatically roll over until a maximum of 30 days is accumulated.  While most Lateral Link Insiders feel comfortable maximizing their vacation time allotment, it “is not necessarily true in other offices such as New York and Chicago.”  Lateral Link Members report that the extent of the work associates typically do on a vacation is limited to checking their BlackBerrys and making a few phone calls, and only occasionally do they cancel vacation for work; however, one Member notes that partners "will be more than happy to keep you busy during your vacation if you do not push back against them."  While only a few Members report working on holidays, most say that they regularly work on weekends, sometimes from the office and sometimes from home.  The firm offers up to 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, and four weeks of paid, non-primary care parental leave.  To ease the transition back to work from parental leave, the firm’s Flexible Return From Maternity program gives parents the option of customizing their own re-entry schedule, with either reduced hours or a combination of home and office days, for up to one year.  Additionally, under the firm’s Sidebar program, any associate in good standing can leave the firm for up to three years to pursue personal interests.  The firm also allows attorneys to work reduced hours schedules, and currently 65 associates and of counsels are working on part-time or alternative work schedules.  Still, one Member advises that since “the firm is relaxed enough about face time,” an associate should reconsider working part-time because “you just end up working the same amount, but getting paid less.”