The wait for partnership is getting longer at the UK's leading firms, according to research by Legal Week, which shows it took 8.7 years on average for lawyers to make partner this year, compared with 8.1 years in 2004.

The partnership track has increased in length each year for top City lawyers during the last four years, despite the fact that a number of firms, including Ashurst, Lovells and Herbert Smith, saw a significant drop in the time it took to make partner this year.

Clifford Chance, Eversheds, Linklaters, Allen & Overy (A&O) and CMS Cameron McKenna all reported a slightly longer partnership track for 2007 compared with 2006 and associates at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Norton Rose averaged more than nine years to make partner between 2004 and 2007.

Linklaters capital markets partner Simon Firth (pictured, above right) told Legal Week: "We are looking for a wider range of skills than we were before and it takes longer for people to develop them. It does take longer to make partner than it used to, but people tend to overstate it. Even though partners at many firms will go in as salaried partners now, rather than equity, they probably get higher salaries than junior equity partners would have got 10 years ago - even accounting for inflation."

Despite its partnership track increasing from 7.8 years last year to 8.5 this year, A&O joins Slaughter and May in having one of the fastest routes to partnership across the top City firms. Associates at both firms took less than eight years to make partner, with Slaughters reporting the fastest track at just seven years to reach the equity.

Ashurst and Lovells also beat the average this year with the post-qualification experience (PQE) of a new partner at Ashurst averaging 7.7 years, compared with 9.2 last year and 8.5 the year before. Lovells' partnership track stood at 7.6 this year, down from 8.8 in 2006 and 9.6 in 2005. The firms' global averages also showed a slight drop in the time it takes to make partner.

Commenting on the findings, Lovells corporate partner Nigel Read said: "If business is booming, there is more room in the partnership for people coming through on a faster partnership track. The last thing anyone wants is people feeling it takes forever to get a foot on the partnership rung."

In contrast, Freshfields' associates in London this year took an average of 12 years to make the grade, despite the fact it is the first year that the firm has had a band of salaried partners as well as equity partners.

However, the results were affected by the fact that four of the new partners had more than 10 years' experience. This also affected the firm's average for the four years.

Freshfields corporate partner Mark Rawlinson (above left) commented: "The processes for making partner these days are a lot more formalised. Not only does the candidate have to be above the bar but the practice area has to have the business case as well. What clients expect from partners these days is much more demanding than when I was first a partner and you are not doing anyone a favour by making them up when they are not ready."

Most firms' figures were marginally affected by a growing number of qualified foreign lawyers re-qualifying in the UK - pushing up the total time from initial qualification to making partner.

Simmons & Simmons did not contribute any figures.

Talkback: Should firms shorten their partnership track? Click here to have your say.

The wait for partnership is getting longer at the UK's leading firms, according to research by Legal Week, which shows it took 8.7 years on average for lawyers to make partner this year, compared with 8.1 years in 2004.

The partnership track has increased in length each year for top City lawyers during the last four years, despite the fact that a number of firms, including Ashurst, Lovells and Herbert Smith, saw a significant drop in the time it took to make partner this year.

Clifford Chance, Eversheds, Linklaters, Allen & Overy (A&O) and CMS Cameron McKenna all reported a slightly longer partnership track for 2007 compared with 2006 and associates at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Norton Rose averaged more than nine years to make partner between 2004 and 2007.

Linklaters capital markets partner Simon Firth (pictured, above right) told Legal Week: "We are looking for a wider range of skills than we were before and it takes longer for people to develop them. It does take longer to make partner than it used to, but people tend to overstate it. Even though partners at many firms will go in as salaried partners now, rather than equity, they probably get higher salaries than junior equity partners would have got 10 years ago - even accounting for inflation."

Despite its partnership track increasing from 7.8 years last year to 8.5 this year, A&O joins Slaughter and May in having one of the fastest routes to partnership across the top City firms. Associates at both firms took less than eight years to make partner, with Slaughters reporting the fastest track at just seven years to reach the equity.

Ashurst and Lovells also beat the average this year with the post-qualification experience (PQE) of a new partner at Ashurst averaging 7.7 years, compared with 9.2 last year and 8.5 the year before. Lovells' partnership track stood at 7.6 this year, down from 8.8 in 2006 and 9.6 in 2005. The firms' global averages also showed a slight drop in the time it takes to make partner.

Commenting on the findings, Lovells corporate partner Nigel Read said: "If business is booming, there is more room in the partnership for people coming through on a faster partnership track. The last thing anyone wants is people feeling it takes forever to get a foot on the partnership rung."

In contrast, Freshfields' associates in London this year took an average of 12 years to make the grade, despite the fact it is the first year that the firm has had a band of salaried partners as well as equity partners.

However, the results were affected by the fact that four of the new partners had more than 10 years' experience. This also affected the firm's average for the four years.

Freshfields corporate partner Mark Rawlinson (above left) commented: "The processes for making partner these days are a lot more formalised. Not only does the candidate have to be above the bar but the practice area has to have the business case as well. What clients expect from partners these days is much more demanding than when I was first a partner and you are not doing anyone a favour by making them up when they are not ready."

Most firms' figures were marginally affected by a growing number of qualified foreign lawyers re-qualifying in the UK - pushing up the total time from initial qualification to making partner.

Simmons & Simmons did not contribute any figures.

Talkback: Should firms shorten their partnership track? Click here to have your say.