Salaries at Mayer Brown are based on a lock-step system with a variable component, which means there is a range of salaries within each class year.  The firm has instituted a pay freeze and 2009 salaries remain at 2008 levels.  Lateral Link Members perceive the firm as a follower in terms of setting bonus amounts; in 2008, bonuses at the firm matched market, i.e., they were at half-Skadden Arps levels.  As of 2009, associates must bill at least 2,100 hours to be eligible for a bonus, although there is no minimum billable hours requirement in the New York office.  Bonuses are paid in January to New York associates, but associates in other offices have to wait until March for their bonuses. 

The firm offers intense training to new associates during their first few months of practice and then slowly tapers the formal training to allow on-the-job training to develop organically.  Lateral Link Members agree that substantive training opportunities are "plentiful," although one Member notes that training is "much more extensive for transactional practice than for litigation" and that there could be "more training with respect to client development."  The firm recently implemented a new formal mentoring program, although it remains to be seen whether it is more useful than the current "free-market" mentoring system.  Staffing at the firm varies by office, with associates in New York primarily getting their work from a practice area assignment coordinator, while associates in other offices navigate a free-market system.  There are no formal rotations at the firm, and one Lateral Link Member complains that "practice areas (and sometimes groups within practice areas) rarely collaborate," creating a "silo effect, which can be stifling."  In 2009, the firm was named by Yale Law Women as one of the "Top Ten Family Friendly Firms."  Mayer Brown laid off 33 attorneys for non-performance reasons in November 2008, in addition to about 30 performance-based layoffs and 15 partner de-equitizations since late 2008, according to Lateral Link Members.  Lateral Link Members report that morale at the firm is "shaky" and the reportedly "opaque communications process" between partners and associates is not doing anything to improve it.

The firm has a minimum billable hours requirement of 2,000 hours in all offices except New York, where there is no official minimum, although Lateral Link Members say that 2,000 to 2,100 hours is the expectation there.  Associates must bill 2,100 hours to be eligible for a bonus.  Although there are generally only minor consequences to not meeting the billable hours expectation, Lateral Link Members report that hours factored into decisions to fire associates this year.

Lateral Link Members report the pressure to put in face time at the firm "depends on the partner" an associate is working with.  Another member notes that when associates are busy, they are "expected to be around when things need to be done," but when things are slow, associates "are free to come and go during normal working hours."  The firm provides four weeks of annual vacation.  Lateral Link Members say that it is rare for associates to work on weekends or holidays, but they are expected to be available if needed.

Mayer Brown has a full-time director of pro bono activities and a full-time assistant director in the United States, as well as a pro bono partner in its London office.  The firm also offers new associates in its Chicago and Washington, DC, offices the opportunity to spend 10 weeks at a legal services organization prior to starting at the firm.  The firm encourages its associates to perform a minimum of 60 hours of pro bono work annually and recently instituted a policy crediting up to 200 pro bono hours towards billables and bonuses.

There are two partnership tracks at Mayer Brown, with an average of eight years required for non-equity and an additional three to five years for equity.  The two-tier system is a recent change from single-track partnership, and the firm has had some recent troubles with partner retention, with over 20 equity and non-equity partners leaving in 2008.  Lateral Link Members report some discontent with the firm's partnership system, complaining it is "murky" and a "long shot" goal. 

Mayer Brown offers new associates extensive relocation benefits, including a $3,000 reimbursement.  Other benefits at the firm include subsidized cafeterias in New York and Chicago, car service and dinner reimbursement after 8:00 p.m., backup childcare, and client development expenses approved on a case-by-case basis.  Associates in most offices can expect their own office during their first year; associates in New York receive their own office after their second year.

Summer associates at Mayer Brown are not required to rotate through particular departments and are free to choose their own assignments and participate in pro bono work. The summer program is 10 or 11 weeks, depending on the office. Summer associates are expected to complete between 10 and 15 projects during the summer and attend weekly training programs such as a negotiation workshop. Lateral Link Members concur that they typically leave the office by 6:30 p.m. but are split on whether face time is important during the summer, with some summer associates feeling more pressure to be around the office than others. The firm does not provide summer associates with BlackBerrys. Depending on the office, summer associates can attend three to five attorney lunches each week. The firm holds other social events for summers twice a week, and activities include bowling, a poker tournament, and baseball games. Lateral Link Members say that although the "people are great" at the firm, there is "not a lot of transparency," and "everyone is on edge about offers." The firm has delayed start dates for the next class of associates to January 2010, although some new associates in the New York office have been offered the opportunity to start in September 2009.  Additionally, it has offered these associates the option of further deferring start dates until October 2010 in exchange for a $5,000 monthly stipend.