Credit: Nuthawut/Adobe StockSignaling Growth Goals, Some Law Firms Promote Record Partner Classes
“It’s fair to say that most law firms feel a strategic imperative to grow their size and profitability” in 2025, explained Kent Zimmermann, principal at legal strategy outfit Zeughauser Group.
January 08, 2025 at 04:43 PM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
What You Need to Know
- A growing number of Am Law 200 firms have promoted record-size partner classes in recent weeks.
- The recent announcements reflect a change in pace from the partner promotions announced toward the end of last year, when some firms had shrinking new partner classes.
- The partner promotions also come as more law firms are rapidly growing their nonequity tier.
Several Am Law 200 firms have elected a record number of attorneys to partner in recent weeks, as firms prepare to meet aggressive growth targets in the coming year.
Since the start of 2025 alone, at least three law firms have announced record-setting new partner classes, including Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Schulte Roth & Zabel; and Clark Hill. Others have announced double-digit class sizes similar to recent years, albeit a bit lower than their record sizes from 2021-2023.
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