What is a Firm Partnership?
As you progress through your career you might be aiming for that partnership level position, which is the ultimate form of recognition at a law firm. This is where you’re considered a partner with a law firm and a firm’s partners are collectively responsible for the firm’s debts. Becoming a partner includes prestige, control, a larger role in decision-making and a share in the profits of the firm. Depending on the firm, you will have to either buy in as a partner by purchasing a share in the partnership or you will have to earn equity in your firm .
Law firm partnership is not something you can apply for, it’s something you attain by being granted it by a firm’s partners. Your qualification does not guarantee you’ll be offered partnership as it depends on various factors. You’ll have to demonstrate success, business acumen, potential and benefit to the firm as a whole before you can become a full partner with equity.
While most lawyers become partners at large law firms around one year after they qualify, in the UK it can be up to 10 years or more in specialist firms or chambers. In the US, it is more common to make partner within five years of becoming a lawyer.
Average Age for Becoming Partner
As we mentioned before, it is a several year process to make a partner at a law firm. This years Crains New York list of largest law firms in the NYC area were published last week. Crains got the ages of partners. The 15 largest firms in the city are listed below, with the average age of becoming a partner at the firm.
Firm Avg Age
- Kirkland & Ellis 40.2
- Sidley Austin 39.4
- Proskauer 41.8
- Shearman & Sterling 40.1
- Paul Hastings 38.6
- Skadden, Arps 40.8
- Simpson Thacher 41.4
- WilmerHale 39.8
- Cravath, Swaine & Moore 38.2
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges 39.5
- Davis Polk 39.0
- Cleary Gottlieb 39.3
- Dewey & LeBoeuf 39.2
- Paul Weiss 37.9
- Chadbourne & Parke 40.5
As you can see, the average age of a partner is between the ages of 39 and 41 for the top firms in the city. You can compare your age to the average age of a new partner at your firm and determine how far you are from partnership. There are many studies available on rankings of law firm compensation. As you can imagine, the largest firms in the city tend to pay the highest rates, while smaller firms typically pay less than the top tier firms. Your receipt rate is something we have written about extensively in the past, this allows you to determine how your particular firm compares to other firms within your tier of firms.
Average Age Impacting Factors
A number of factors can significantly alter the average age at which an individual becomes a partner in a law firm.
For example, individuals who join a relatively small law firm tend to be much younger when they make partner. These firms do not have the same high number of associates as large firms do, and they need to offer associates more opportunity to give them a reason to stay. A firm with fewer than 50 attorneys typically requires a lawyer to make partner by age 32, compared with the vast majority of firms (larger or smaller) that require a lawyer to make partner by 36 or 37. Interestingly, however, these smaller firms have stricter requirements for the types of clientele that can make it easier for an individual to become partner.
In addition, practice area can also be a factor. Firms that specialize in bankruptcy, succession, employment and other transactional practice areas are likely to allow attorneys to make partner at a younger age than litigation firms, where attorneys do not generate revenue until the end of a case.
It is important to have reasonable expectations when beginning your career in a law firm. While there is often a sense of urgency, it is critical to ensure that you focus on building a strong reputation in your niche area of the law. Generally, this is more important for getting ahead than the age at which you are named partner.
Road To Partnership Acceleration Steps
For many lawyers, the ultimate goal is to become partner. Partnership carries the perks of greater compensation, more client interaction, involvement in decision-making, and essentially passing through the gauntlet to be recognized as among the best among your peers. For some firms, partnership is the holy grail.
However, the harsh (but realistic) truth is that the road to partnership can be extraordinarily long and costly for everyone involved, especially if the firm has experienced down years or you’re a mid-level or senior associate at a national firm—that is, at the stage where many firms routinely make partner (or not). If you want to make partner faster, it’s important to understand that you have actually some control over your destiny.
While there are external factors marketing, economics, leadership, firm strategy, etc., at work, there are other ways you can better position yourself, and your firm, for partnership.
If you’re considering pursuing partnership sooner or later, the following strategies can help increase your chances:
Practice. Sharpening the skill set is critical, because you need to be better than ever, due to the greater pressure on you to bring in business, while continuing to deliver for existing clients. You also need to be able to demonstrate and showcase your expertise and value to the firm.
Marketing and Business Development. This is never a waste of time, but critical when you consider some firms may take years to make the decision to move up from junior level . You can never start too early. Begin to build your reputation and establish relationships through LinkedIn, alumni events, and bar association events, to name just a few. Remember, all selling is relationship-building—start building them now.
Soft Skills. Don’t underestimate the power of the soft skills as a vital aspect of developing your profile in the firm and marketplace. Leadership, communication, and people skills—these are just some of the skills that can help distinguish you from the pack.
Networking. It’s also essential to cultivate relationships, both internal and external. Your job is not done once you bring in a new client to the firm, but rather you need to stay on their radar so they remain loyal to you and your firm. Seek opportunities to network from bar association luncheons to larger law conferences.
Mentorship. Even though it’s an old-fashioned term, it still applies. Work with someone further up the rung than you, whether it’s a senior-level partner or someone who has more experience than you, who can provide you with guidance, oversight, and sponsorship, which can be pivotal throughout your career.
For example, one former Big Law attorney, who isn’t looking to making partner again, recently encouraged associates to work with a mentor because it helped him bring in clients, made him that much more indispensable to the firm, and earned him a great annual review.
Who knows—maybe someday, you’ll be that legal executive.
Challenges on Road to Partnership
The path to partnership is rarely ever an easy one. A lawyer may face numerous obstacles along the way, and having to deal with them in such a competitive work environment can be incredibly frustrating. Adapting to a new environment, clients that do not simply materialize for you, and more demanding overhead requirements are all challenges faced by new partners that sometimes mean you have to make the decision as to whether or not you want to stay on the road to partnership, or jump ship to where you’ll have a higher chance of making that coveted status.
Adapting to a challenging new environment can be like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. It just might not work out for you no matter how hard you try. Some people are simply not going to be able to adjust to the new office environment, and while most firms do try to make the transition as easy as possible, transferring from one firm to another can be difficult and highly challenging. You may be able to resolve some of the issues through open discussion, but if you find that it’s really just not working out, don’t be afraid to look elsewhere for a better fit.
Clients can either be a blessing or a curse for a new partner. If you were fortunate enough to bring existing clients with you to your new firm, you’re off to a great start and you’re already well ahead of the curve despite your very recent hire date. However, if you didn’t bring any clients over with you, the lack thereof may cause tension between you and the firm. If you’re just walking in and getting what you can from the clients of the attorneys that transferred with you, it can also be an issue. A firm looks at your value and your ability to contribute. If you’re just standing on the backs of others, they’ll have a harder time seeing what you bring to the table.
If your overhead requirements are getting the best of you, don’t let them cause you to lose sight of the financial side of the firm. If you’re required to bring a certain amount in based on how high your salary is, make it happen, otherwise you can find yourself out of a job as quickly as you got the offer. But, if your trouble is with your compensation, knowing what you should be paid and that your salary isn’t what it should be can be frustrating in its own right. Instead of complaining about it, show them why you deserve more. Bring in more clients or look for ways to save the firm money. Do something to show them you’re worth more.
Once you show you can handle the majority of the burdens that a partner faces, the rest should come pretty easily. Don’t let one or two minor issues get the better of you. Focus on what you can bring to the firm. Look at it as a partnership. You’re all working together to be successful.
Trends in Law Firm Partnerships
You might have noticed, but over the last decade the ways that professionals hold themselves out as being a partner have changed. Long gone are the days that a majority of large firms had everyone remain in the office until at least 8:00 p.m. among other regimens. The modern partnership is the result of a multitude of factors – including (among others) the overall change in the mood and tone of the law firm environment.
The changing mold of the venerable partner has seen several distinct modifications to the types of folks for whom partnership is now intended. Those noticed changes have been in the areas of diversity, flexible work schedules, more proactive networking/cultivation/sales efforts or combination thereof.
Law Firms continue to make strides in their efforts to recruit, hire and promote diverse attorneys. Whether it’s at a law school level or promoting from within, the Corporate Law Firm partnership world has done more than ever to make a change in the way diversity was previously looked at. Most firms have also signed onto the Mansfield rule (or something similar), which requires a firm to consider a certain minimum level of diverse candidates for open partnerships .
Diversity isn’t the only change to the landscape of law firm partnerships. Flexible hours is becoming a more prevalent part of the larger firms, with many firms requiring some kind of flexible plan for parents, particularly parturient women, who would otherwise be unable to continue a partnership-track career. Even this innovative plan has experienced some voice of dissent from conservative firms.
Our final discussion point, sales and networking efforts have also changed the face of the partnership. Firms essentially require that ALL associates get a grasp on their own marketing and personal development earlier in their careers than some were able to previously. Associates are also advised to demonstrate how they can bring clients to the firm and increase their book of business sooner rather than later (typically "early" in their careers, i.e. 3-5 years).
In addition to all of the sales/cultivation efforts is the idea that these now seasoned associates are required to do more. Firms now recognize that an increase in billing may be necessary for them to make partner and as result, they’re encouraged to work longer hours, which can often equate to decreased quality of life.