How High Do You Want to Go? Understanding Law Firm Titles

• Most young attorneys still dream of making partner sometime in their careers. Not all will, and partnership track may be long for some.
• For those on the partner track, expectations for commitment and performance will be high. Read below to see if you are advancing to a partner title in a law firm.
• In a law firm, there may be several levels for attorneys with different titles. Not all levels will be achievable or even desired by all attorneys. Before you begin your climb to the top, become familiar with what the titles in law firms mean, and if the rise to the top is what you want from your legal career.

Lawyering: this isn’t your father’s career.
Once, law firms would hire promising young associates straight-out of law school. They’d train and nurture their skills and invest in their professional growth. The hope was that one day these associates would live up to the promise the law firm had recognized in that green law school graduate. Many years of hard work and many, many billable hours later, the maturing associate may earn partnership at the firm.

Now, it’s more complicated. Over the last 40 years, the numbers of practicing lawyers has increased 169%. In the U.S. the legion of lawyers has swelled to well over 1.3 million—that’s one lawyer for every 248 Americans. The average salary in the industry is $190,000, and the path to partner may be getting narrower.

The path to partner, or not
According to monster.com, the typical partnership track, beginning from the time a young law student begins their summer associate position, will take between 7 and 10 years. Then it’s first-year associate to senior associate, and then, onto partner—providing you’ve put in the requisite annual billable hours along the way. But not everybody is going to make the cut.

In 2006, of the 121,500 attorneys that worked at the Top 250 firms of the National Law Journal (NLJ), there were roughly 37,500 equity partners and 84,000 associates and non-equity partners. That comes out to 30% making partner. That just happened to be the percentage in that year—this doesn’t mean it’ll be the same 30% on any given year. Generally speaking, at many large firms only a small percentage of associates advance to the ranks of partner. Only a small percentage of those partners will later become equity partners.

For those on the track, some firms allow for two votes—others, only one. If the vote is down, the associate is more than likely done.

Some firms that aren’t on the “up or out” approach for attorneys may create a non-partnership position, such as “of counsel” for valued lawyers who, for whatever reason, aren’t partnership material (more on this below).

At small firms, the chances for partner are better though the rewards will be smaller. Half of associates hired by small firms eventually become partners and their average salary could be in the $80,000-$90,000 range. Compare that to the partners at the NJL Top 250 firms that earned a median income of $1.5 million.

As far as profits go, only 79 partners in the U.S. made over $1 million. However, some partners at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz in New York had compensation as high as $6,530,000.

If you stay too long at a firm where you’re not considered partnership material, your marketability in the industry goes down. If this happens, begin networking while your marketability is still high. Try to find good, respected recruiters by asking friends, clients, and business associates for referrals.

Whatever may be in store for you, here’s the hierarchy you’ll need to learn to better plan your climb:

The Law Firm’s Who’s Who
For most young attorneys, their law school dreams include making big money at Big Law, or at least working at a reputable law firm. Three-quarters of all attorneys work in law firms. For them, knowing who’s who will be an integral part of understanding the ecosystem they find themselves in. Getting to know law firm titles, the roles of law firm attorneys, and other various roles including non-attorney executives, paralegals, legal assistants, legal secretaries and other support staff will be vital to understanding their firm’s culture. The numbers and importance of such roles may vary by firm as well as their complexity and scale. Still, knowing the attorney titles in law firms and what they mean may be important in knowing who to get to know, whose attention you’ll want to attract (or not), and where to aim in your own climb up the ladder.

Managing Partners At the top of the law firm title hierarchy pyramid is the managing partner. The managing partner may be the firm’s founder or an attorney who has ascended to this lofty senior-level position in an election by the firm’s partners. In some firms, a managing partner is a temporary role that one is voted into.

Often, if an attorney is elected to a managing partner role, the attorney has demonstrated exemplary leadership skills and has a clear plan for the law firm’s success. Their performance at the firm has impressed the other partners enough for the voting members to feel confident in the future of the law firm under the managing partner’s guidance.

A managing partner will manage day-to-day operations and may often head an executive committee of other senior partners. In this position they will establish and guide the firm’s culture and vision in addition to maintaining their full-time law practice.

Law Firm Partners
A law firm partner, also called an equity partner, has an ownership stake in the law firm. As shareholders, they’re entitled to a portion of the profits. A more senior partner may be entitled to a higher percentage of the annual profits and these conditions and structures may vary from firm to firm. These can include solo practices—a firm with only one equity partner—on up to Big Law firms that have many equity partners.

An associate may ascend to or buy into becoming a law firm partner in a number of ways. Most often, equity partners have a substantial book of business and attract additional clients to the firm. If lawyers are unable to establish a book of business, they may not achieve an equity partner title. At many large firms, only a small percentage of associates will make it to the ranks of equity partners.

Non-equity Partners
Because they are not shareholders in the law firm, non-equity partners do not get a vote in decisions made by the firm and their bonuses are not based on profitability of the firm. Their compensation may include a base salary and an additional percentage for business they originate. A non-equity partner may also be called a “junior partner”. A non-equity partner may or may not advance to an equity partner role. Some firms may promote non-equity partners to equity status in one to three years if the non-equity partner is able to increase their book of business or otherwise earn a change in title. This change in status may also require a capital contribution to the firm.

Most partners in law firms are non-equity partners.

Associates
Associates are generally full-time attorneys who are hired on partnership track. Large law firms may divide associates into juniors and seniors, depending on merit and experience level. Big Law firms often have associates from each graduating class, and the associates are ranked according to class year, such as: first-year associate, second-year associate, and so on.

To be hired as an associate and be on track for partnership, the associate must bring value to the firm, be the right cultural fit, and demonstrate potential to eventually grow their own practice. They must also have the political savvy to get along with everyone from paralegals and secretaries to partners. Depending on the firm, associates generally must meet billable hours’ requirements, be able to produce well-written and accurately researched work, and increase their skills and responsibilities in their practice area.

The typical track is for a lawyer to put in time as an associate for six to nine years. At the end of this period, associates are generally considered for partnership based on factors such as the associate’s legal skills and intelligence, their client base, and how well they fit into the law firm’s culture.

Within about three years, associates generally have a good idea whether they will make the cut for future partnership. If partnership opportunities aren’t realistic at the current law firm, the associate may want to transition to a new firm that is a better long-term fit.

“Of Counsel” Attorneys
Of Counsel attorneys at law firms are often senior lawyers who either do not have a book of business, or do not have the requisite amount of business to be considered for partnership. However, their skills and experience still add value to the law firm, and they may bolster the client base or bring an area of expertise to the firm on legal matters that no one else has.

Attorneys with an Of Counsel or Counsel title usually have varying compensation structures depending on the firm.

Staff Attorneys
Staff attorneys are full-time attorneys who are hired for a specific project. Staff attorneys are not on partnership track, and they usually do not advance within the law firm. Staff attorneys’ responsibilities may include working on a specific case, or performing a task such as discovery for a particular group. The staff attorney position is usually considered to be a temporary position, and the compensation and hours’ requirements are less than that of an associate.

Summer Associates
These are often law students who intern with a firm during the summer months. They may be unpaid in smaller firms though larger firms may have well-established programs for summer associates that may lead to permanent positions after graduation. In such cases these positions can be highly competitive.

The hierarchy and positions within a law firm can offer a ladder of success for an attorney’s career. They can also offer a map of where a young associate may or may not want to go. Understanding the various titles within a law firm will help attorneys keep their practice goals on track throughout their legal career.

About Harrison Barnes

Harrison Barnes is the founder of BCG Attorney Search and a successful legal recruiter. Harrison is extremely committed to and passionate about the profession of legal placement. His firm BCG Attorney Search has placed thousands of attorneys. BCG Attorney Search works with attorneys to dramatically improve their careers by leaving no stone unturned in job searches and bringing out the very best in them. Harrison has placed the leaders of the nation’s top law firms, and countless associates who have gone on to lead the nation’s top law firms. There are very few firms Harrison has not made placements with. Harrison’s writings about attorney careers and placements attract millions of reads each year. He coaches and consults with law firms about how to dramatically improve their recruiting and retention efforts. His company, LawCrossing, has been ranked on the Inc. 500 twice. For more information, please visit Harrison Barnes’ bio.

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