As Big Law showers associates with cash, corporate legal departments are going to have to get more creative about luring in-house legal talent from the most prestigious law firms—or wave the white flag and start looking elsewhere for recruits. 

This development was coming long before the latest salvo in the Big Law salary wars, which Milbank triggered with $10,000 to $20,000 salary raises for associates. The pay hike set off an all-too-familiar matching game among other top-tier law firms, while corporate legal departments once again watched from the sidelines.