As large law firms increasingly create and expand their nonequity partnership tiers, the number of single-tier partnership firms is dwindling. Only about 15 law firms in the Am Law 100 operate with a single tier now—two fewer compared with just a few years ago, when Cravath Swaine & Moore and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison hadn’t yet added nonequity partners.

But some law firms with a single-tier are adamant it’s the best system and say they aren’t moving away, at least for now. Indeed, single-tier partnerships offer law firms many benefits, say firm leaders and consultants, from avoiding the liabilities of a bloated nonequity tier to maintaining the quality of the partnership.