For the most part, law firms hire summer associates while they are in law school and from that group, employ them as first-year associates. Those first-year associates with ability and ambition work their way up the law firm “chain” to become partner. Some law firms do have interim positions between associate and partner, such as senior associate, and some distinguish between two levels of partner (equity and non-equity). Even fewer include one or two “of counsel” and “special counsel” positions in their firm models. Law schools are generally complicit in this model, offering classes, training and career placement services that suit this track.
While this traditional model has served many firms well in the past, its limitations may hinder future success by neglecting the talented attorneys whose careers do not correspond to this limited model. In the same way that individual lawyers must find creative strategies to address their clients’ needs in a changing legal landscape, so must firms be flexible and open to new models when building their legal teams.
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