Average PQE of new UK partners at top 20 passes 10-year mark

The track to partnership at the country's largest law firms is continuing to lengthen, with the average level of experience held by new UK partners now standing at more than 10 years, according to research by Legal Week.

Figures compiled from the UK top 20 firms' 2013 partner promotions show the average length of time taken for UK lawyers to reach partnership from qualification reached 10.5 years, up from last year's figure of 10.3. When focusing solely on the top 10, the figure rises further to an average of 10.6 years, up from 10.4 last year. 

These figures are significantly higher than those seen before the onset of the credit crunch in 2008, when the average post-qualification experience (PQE) for new partners at top 10 firms stood at 8.8 years.

Despite the overall upward trend, the partnership track at magic circle firms remains the shortest, with junior lawyers at the five elite firms spending an average of nine years before making partner.

Slaughter and May is among the firms with the shortest partnership track, with its clear 'up or out' policy resulting in an average of eight-and-a-half years' PQE for new UK partners.

Across the top 20 as a whole, Herbert Smith Freehills has the lowest average PQE level for its 2013 UK partner class, with an average of just 7.25 years. Eversheds and Norton Rose have the longest partner tracks among the top 10, with an average PQE of newly promoted UK partners this year of 13.6 and 13.8 years respectively, although Norton Rose cited career breaks taken by a number of its new partners as a contributing factor.

The rising figures come as global partner promotions across the UK top 20 fell by 12% to 312 this year.

Eversheds UK managing partner Lee Ranson said: "Challenging economic conditions evidenced by a lack of significant growth for the major law firms has, unsurprisingly, had the knock-on effect of limiting the number of UK partner promotions in recent years. The best candidates seeking partnership will still get there, it is just likely to take a little longer, and I do not see that trend changing in the near future."

The allure of partnership may also have lost its lustre for many associates in recent years, as cost-conscious firms tighten their grip on their equity ranks amid a tough market.

Hogan Lovells chair Nicholas Cheffings observed: "The dynamic of entering into the partnership has clearly changed over recent years, and, for many, becoming a partner is not the driving force that it used to be – alternative career paths are often more attractive." 

Hill Dickinson managing partner Peter Jackson added: "I'm not surprised at the statistics. I suspect the economic climate and the general fall in profitability is behind it. Simple economics tells you that if there is less profit to share then there will be a reluctance to increase the number of sharers."

Average PQE of new UK partners at top 10 firms

Clifford Chance – 9.4

Linklaters – 8.7

Allen & Overy – 10.2

Freshfields  – 8.4

DLA Piper – 11.8

Hogan Lovells – 10.4

Herbert Smith – 7.3

Slaughter and May – 8.5

Eversheds – 13.6