June 10 (Reuters) - Susman Godfrey is raising its associate

salaries to between $240,000 and $450,000, the

litigation-focused firm said on Wednesday, upping the ante for

junior lawyers' pay after raises announced by Milbank and others

set a new compensation benchmark for major law firms last week.

Susman set its salaries $5,000 to $10,000 higher for

first-through-seventh-year associates compared with Milbank,

whose announcement last week sparked matching raises at a

handful of other firms.

"We believe we are lucky enough to have the most talented

associates in the country, and we want to pay them accordingly,"

Susman partner Jacob Buchdahl told Reuters. The new pay scale

was announced internally on Tuesday and takes effect July 1.

The largest U.S. law firms typically adjust their associate

salaries and year-end bonuses within days or weeks of one

another to remain competitive. Katten Muchin Rosenman; McDermott

Will & Schulte; and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan quickly

moved to match the Milbank scale since last week, as have some

smaller firms including Elsberg Baker & Maruri; Hueston

Hennigan; and Seward & Kissel.

Other large and prominent firms have held back so far. Big

law firms posted strong average financial results in 2025,

though lawyer compensation and investments in technologies like

AI have also buoyed expenses.

During the last round of associate pay raises in 2023, which

were also kicked off by Milbank, other firms rushed to increase

pay only after Cravath, Swaine & Moore announced even larger

raises three weeks later.

Susman Godfrey, based in Houston, is among the four law

firms that turned to the courts to fend off executive orders by

President Donald Trump targeting the firms' business. The Trump

administration has appealed rulings that struck down the orders

last year.

The firm in 2023 secured a $787.5 million settlement for

Dominion Voting Systems against Fox Corp ( FOXA ), resolving claims that

Fox News broadcast false claims about Dominion's voting machines

being used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Two of the firm's top partners, Neal Manne and Bill Carmody,

began charging $4,000 an hour this year, although Manne said

most of their work is handled on a contingency or fixed-fee

basis.