We continue our miniseries on the big “transitioning” moments in the lawyer’s career arc. In the first lesson in the transitioning series, we saw you plunged into the deep end with other newly-minted associates, being charged out at hundreds of dollars an hour, while figuring out how to bridge the skills gap, from student to associate.

Let’s fast forward a decade or more. By now you’ve got the hang of it. You see how things are, you’ve got some work and you’ve had some successes. Clients like you. The firm likes you. You feel like you’re ready for the next big jump, from associate to partner. Congrats! You’ve earned it!

Your firm feels the same way. You’ve been nominated and you’ve met the approval of the standards committee. This is finally going to happen. But just like when you left law school, being ready is one thing, being equipped is quite another. You’re not.

From now on, you’ll have to eat what you kill, while meeting both billing and origination targets. Just like the transition from student to associate, you’re the same person today that you were yesterday, with the same attributes, only from today forth you’ll be charged out at a higher rate than yesterday. Once again, there’s a huge skills gap that you don’t know you have. Once again, the solution on offer to you is likely to be unstructured informal training. Once again, this can be patchy. Another transition, another bumpy few years.

The common view among law firms is that investing in young partners shows commitment and reduces attrition, so it’s an investment in the future. They’re right about this, and so you might expect that your firm would equip you with the skills training to succeed. But, a recent survey found that just 7% of firms provided structured transition training for newly elevated partners. (See, “New Partner Training Is a Key Component of Law Firm Success,” Law.com (Oct. 16, 2023).)

Over here at Lean Adviser, we try to see the root causes of the problem and offer a different approach. The conventional view is that the title “partner” is a marketing tool, and that it will justify the overnight hike in your rate. Clients don’t see it that way, and neither do we. Titles don’t matter to clients, methods do.

Truth be told, if you’ve been practicing “lean law” for a few of your associate years, you’ll have been self-training for partnership. Your work will be planned, organized and focused. You’ll be accustomed to specializing in your clients and solving their problems. You’ll have a reputation for efficiency, effectiveness and reliability. Those are the hallmarks of go-to lawyers at any level of seniority.