For the first time in four years, new partnerships took a slide at New Jersey law firms, down to a level not seen since the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession. There are 109 partners at 48 firms represented in this, the Law Journal’s 15th annual New Partners Yearbook.

The total count is 16 percent smaller than the 127 new partners listed last year and 27 percent smaller than 150 partners the year before. In fact, this year’s 109 is near the nadir of 2010, when new partnerships dropped to 106.