Salaries at the firm are based on a set lock-step system, and each class year receives the same base salary.  The firm is generally considered a follower with respect to bonus amounts, and Lateral Link Members report that "historically [it] was at or below market rates for bonuses."  However, in 2008, "it is far ahead of the pack," and associates in the Los Angeles and Washington, DC, offices received a top-of-market bonus (i.e., Skadden Arps levels) if they billed a minimum of 1,950 hours.  On the flip side, associates in those offices who billed less than 1,950 hours received no bonus.  Associates in the New York office are not required to bill any minimum hours to be eligible for a bonus, but their 2008 bonuses were on a lower, i.e., half-Skadden Arps, scale. 

The firm offers extensive and "well-organized" formal training, such as a Tools for Success Lunch & Learn series for new associates, practice group trainings, mock deal trainings, and external training opportunities.  Lateral Link Members have mixed reviews of mentoring at the firm, with some saying it is "excellent" and others griping that it "needs work" and associates need "to be in with the right partners and clients" to benefit.  On the other hand, Lateral Link Members appreciate the fact that there is "little sense of hierarchy" at the firm and that dealings with management are characterized by "openness" and "collegial[ity]." Assignments at O'Melveny are brokered through an assigning attorney in each practice area.  The firm's Los Angeles and New York offices offer formal one- and two-year rotations, but associates in all offices are expected to take on work in another group if their group is slow.  O'Melveny began making stealth layoffs in late 2008, ostensibly for performance-based reasons, although Lateral Link Members report it's more likely the layoffs occurred because business at the firm, particularly in the corporate department, has been "very slow" since early 2008.  In March 2009, the firm announced significant layoffs of almost 100 attorneys and over 100 staff.  Morale at the firm is low, and Lateral Link Members say that associates worry that "no one's job is safe."

Associates in non-New York offices must bill a minimum of 1,950 hours to qualify for a bonus.  There is no billable hours minimum for New York associates.  The main consequence of not reaching the billable minimum is no bonus, but one Lateral Link Member opines that there are no other consequences "because everyone knows that most people will not meet the 1,950 number this year, [and] most people in my class did not meet it last year either."

While Lateral Link Members report that there is no "official face time requirement," they say face time is "encouraged" and "working from home" is only "acceptable if needed."  Vacation time varies by office, with associates in the firm's California and Washington, DC, offices receiving three weeks of annual vacation; associates in New York, four weeks; and international associates, 160 hours annually.  Vacation time automatically rolls over, but Lateral Link Members report that there is a "distinction between first- to fifth-year associates and sixth-year and up in terms of how much vacation time can roll over."  Lateral Link Members agree that most attorneys take advantage of their vacation time, although more than one Member reports knowing attorneys at the firm who have had to cancel vacations because of work.  Attorneys at O'Melveny regularly work on weekends but are usually able to do so from home.

Pro bono work is very much "encourag[ed]" at O'Melveny, and "every hour counts for all purposes."  Attorneys are encouraged to perform at least 50 hours of pro bono annually, and all new attorneys in all U.S. offices are required to handle at least one pro bono matter in their first year.  In addition to more traditional pro bono work, the firm has developed a transactional pro bono focus in microfinance. 

There are two partnership tracks at O'Melveny, averaging eight years for non-equity and ten years to equity.  Lateral Link Members report that partnership is an achievable goal with hard work and that senior associates who are passed over on their first attempt at partner will generally be considered again the following year.

Benefits at O'Melveny include an in-house cafeteria in the Los Angeles office, free sodas, a suite in the Staples Center, regular happy hours, subsidized gym membership in the San Francisco and Washington, DC, offices, a meal allowance if working more than nine-and-a-half hours, and backup childcare and elder care.  Associates receive their own office in their first year.  New associates outside New York receive a $10,000 bar stipend, in New York it is a $5,000 bar stipend and a $5,000 salary advance, and extensive moving benefits, including direct billing with preferred movers, consulting services from professional house or apartment hunters, three months' paid storage, and airfare for moving. 

O'Melveny & Myers offers 11-week summer programs in its U.S. and Asia offices. While the firm encourages summer associates to apply to its Asia summer programs, it does not generally hire first-year associates into those offices, although it does pay for travel expenses and offers assistance in finding housing in Asia. Summer associates are assigned work in various practice areas by an attorney coordinator and are expected to complete an average of 10 assignments during the summer. Trainings are held once or twice a week on average and more frequently during the first few weeks of the summer. Lateral Link Members in the firm's summer program say they are expected to be in the office during normal working hours, but they are generally able to leave by 6:00 p.m., although one Member notes that there can be occasional "days...staying late and lots of getting stuff done on the weekends." The firm provides summer associates with BlackBerrys, but Lateral Link Members say there is no real expectation that they check it after hours. Summer associates can attend an unlimited number of attorney lunches, and the firm also hosts two to three social events each week, ranging from happy hours to a Supreme Court tour to surfing lessons to go-kart racing. The firm has delayed the start date for members of the most recent summer class to December 2009.  In 2008, the firm hired the largest number of its first-year associates from Harvard and Columbia, hiring ten students from each school.