Salaries at the firm are set on a lock-step system.  The salary for most U.S. offices matches the standard salary scale for comparable New York firms, but salaries in the Philadelphia and Princeton offices are set at a slightly lower level.  Still, most Lateral Link Members in Dechert's Philadelphia office are satisfied with their compensation, calling it a "generous" salary for that market.  Lateral Link Members say the firm is a "market follower" with respect to bonus amounts.  True to form, the firm awarded market (i.e., half-Skadden Arps) bonuses in 2008, although one Lateral Link Member points out that firm did also add a "small...bonus this year at 1,750 hours."  Associates should be diligent about entering their time if they want their full bonus, since Lateral Link Members warn that the firm has been known to "dock" bonuses "retroactively...if associates have been more than three days late in entering time."

Dechert offers "plenty" of in-house and external training programs, but Lateral Link Members complain that other forms of associate development are "non-existent."  Another Member reports that the firm has "recently started a mentoring program and more mandatory training" after getting "poor results in the mid-level-associate survey last year," and the outlook in this area is "improving."  In addition to standard associate reviews, associates at Dechert also participate in an "Upward Feedback" evaluation process and provide confidential evaluations of the partners with whom they work.  Staffing at Dechert is done on "informal basis" by partners in each group, and associates generally settle into working arrangements with a partner or two from whom they get the majority of their assignments.  Lateral Link Members report that this informal staffing system is "a real drag" when work is slow and associates are left "on their own" to find billable work.  Mid-level associates at Dechert are offered the opportunity to take a 6- to 18-month secondment in one of the firm's European offices.  In addition to reported stealth layoffs in 2008, several attorneys were laid off in February 2009, and in July 2009, an additional round of attorney and staff layoffs were announced.  Lateral Link Members report that morale is "very low" due to the layoffs and the perceived "inevitability of more."  One Member grumbles that morale is not helped by the firm "keeping remaining associates in the dark about the circumstances of such layoffs and future prospects."

Dechert requires associates to bill a minimum of 1,950 hours to qualify for a bonus, although Lateral Link Members advise associates not to kill themselves trying to top that number, since "bonuses do [not] increase much after 2,200 hours."   The consequences of not reaching the billable hour minimum vary according to circumstances, with Lateral Link Members reporting outcomes ranging from "no bonus" to "possible termination" to "being held back a year."

The firm provides attorneys with four weeks of annual vacation, and a small number of days can be rolled over to the following year.  According to some Lateral Link Members, it is easier to take a few days "here and there" than extended breaks, but others report vacation policy is "liberal" if the associate "make[s] arrangements in advance."   While Lateral Link Members concur that associates are generally expected to be in the office during normal working hours, most say there is no "requirement" other than a "self-imposed" one.  In addition, Lateral Link Members say face time was "not as important" when there was abundant work and correspondingly high hours, but in the "current economic downturn...face time has become somewhat of an issue."

The firm strongly encourages pro bono work and has a minimum pro bono requirement of 25 hours annually, which Lateral Link Members say is "strictly enforced."  Dechert will credit up to 200 hours of pro bono work towards the billable hours requirement.  An impressive 92% of associates perform some pro bono work, averaging 68 hours annually.

There are two partnership tracks at Dechert, averaging eight years for eligibility.  Lateral Link Members say that the road to partnership is "tough" and that it is "difficult to figure out what it takes to make partner."  While senior associates once were allowed to remain at the firm if they did not make partner, Lateral Link Members report that the firm has transformed into a "cut-throat, up-and-out type of place."

New associates at Dechert receive a bar stipend/starting bonus that ranges from $5,000 to $12,000, depending on office.  In addition, new associates in the New York and Washington, DC, offices have the option of taking a salary advance.  Other benefits at the firm include an on-site cafeteria, a small on-site gym and salon, free food on a regular basis, weekly happy hours, practice group retreats, and emergency childcare in the Philadelphia office.

During Dechert's 10-week summer program, summer associates do not formally rotate but are free to focus on one practice group or to sample several. Lateral Link Members say they have a "great deal of independence" during the summer and appreciate the opportunity to choose the areas to take assignments in. Summer associates are expected to complete 11-15 assignments over the course of the summer as well as attend the trainings that are held at least once a week. Although summer associates are assigned attorney members, more than one Lateral Link Member in the summer program reports that they "don't really know" their mentors. Summer associates are provided with BlackBerrys, and they acknowledge that although they usually leave the office by 6:30 on weeknights, weekend work is not unheard of. Normally, all summer associates gather for a retreat in the firm's London office, but in 2009, the retreat was cancelled because of the economy. Summer associates can attend one to two attorney lunches each week and are also invited to weekly social events such as theater nights, volunteer work with charities, and mixology and cooking classes.   The firm has scheduled three different start dates for new associates - Fall 2009, March 2010 and Fall 2010.  Associates who start in March 2010 will receive a $17,500 stipend in addition to the bar stipend, while those who opt for the full-year deferral will receive a $75,000 stipend if they obtain a public service or public interest job.  The firm made offers to approximately half of its 2009 summer associate class and has told the other half of the class that it would not be making a decision on their offers until January 2010.