By David Thomas

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, 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.