While most of Big Law continues “tight control” over their equity partnership, there’s evidence the very highest-performing firms increased their equity partner ranks last year, according to industry analysts and consultants.

Indeed, the law firms that “knocked the cover off the ball” in 2024 – a group of about 15 top-performing law firms tracked by Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group – increased their equity tier by about 3% through most of the year, the bank said. Meanwhile, the equity partner ranks amongst even top 50 firms writ-large were up only 1% through most of last year.