ALM Intelligence's annual New Partners Survey polls hundreds of newly-promoted partners at large law firms on various topics including their path to partnership, job satisfaction, client relationships, views on the industry as a whole, and their firms specifically.

In the 2022 survey, 68% of the 480 respondents were promoted into a non-equity tier, while 32% were brought into equity partnerships. Compared to the survey in 2019, where the split was 56% non-equity to 44% equity, the sample is representative of the trend of ever-expanding non-equity tiers, while equity partnerships are diligently pruned to maintain profitability for the highest earners.

Each of these new partners carved their own path through hard work and dedication, but amidst an unprecedented talent war and surging demand in recent years, many new non-equity partners felt their promotions were given solely for retention purposes and are now less clear of their standing within the firm.