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Law360 (August 24, 2020, 10:19 PM EDT) -- Holland & Knight LLP confirmed Monday that it had partially rolled back the salary reductions it implemented in the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying its financial position was stronger than anticipated.
In June, associates and staff saw a 30% to 50% reduction of the pay cuts from May, Florida-based Holland & Knight confirmed to Law360. Some attorneys at the firm had seen their salaries cut by 17.5%, and staff earning $75,000 or more saw cuts of 10% to 15%.
"The firm's financial performance has been stronger than we anticipated when we first instituted the salary cuts," a firm spokesperson said Monday. "Although the COVID-19 crisis has affected the firm, the effects have been moderated through the continuing commitment of our attorneys and staff."
Holland & Knight said it is currently evaluating a further restoration of staff pay.
This is just the latest pay restoration among BigLaw firms that decided to implement pay cuts, furloughs and other austerity measures earlier this year in response to the pandemic.
Stoel Rives LLP announced on Friday that starting Sept. 1, associate and of counsel pay will go from being reduced by 20% to reduced by 10%, and partner distributions will be reduced by 15% instead of 20%.
It will also cut reductions to staff salary in half for those whose pay had been reduced by 10%, 15% or 20%. Those who took a 5% cut will see their full salaries restored, the firm said.
Last week, K&L Gates LLP partially rolled back pay cuts after seeing better-than-expected performance during the pandemic, while Crowell & Moring LLP said it plans to bring back prepandemic pay for associates, counsel and staff starting Sept. 1, but didn't indicate a similar rollback of cuts to partner pay.
Fox Rothschild LLP compensation adjustments for all affected attorneys and staff will be reinstated by half, while Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP confirmed last week that the firm is reducing all virus-related compensation adjustments by half.
Also on Tuesday, London-based Kennedys said it was moving forward with salary increases that had been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the firm saying it had a strong fiscal year. The firm was one of the few not to implement furloughs or layoffs or cut salaries for employees.
--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto, Kevin Penton, Michele Gorman and Xiumei Dong. Editing by Emily Kokoll.
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