With the end of the year approaching, law firms from around the country continue to roll out announcements of new partnership classes. For those young attorneys selected to become partner, this is an incredibly significant milestone and one they have worked extraordinarily hard for during the course of their career. But with all of the pomp and circumstance associated with partnership promotions, it is easy for many young attorneys to lose perspective on what partnership means and whether partnership is even the right path. From almost the moment we begin law school, young attorneys are trained to believe that partnership is the holy grail. But far too often young attorneys measure their worth based on their ability to make partner or to move up the ranks of a large law firm. The stigma that many of these young attorneys face when they either choose to move on from a law firm or ultimately do not make partner needs to be reconsidered.

Let’s be clear: Making partner is an important achievement. Setting aside the prestige, salary, and job security associated with partnership, the sense of validation that these young attorneys feel after years of hard work cannot (and should not) be diminished. But there is a reason the adage—“the practice of law is like a pie eating contest, where the prize is more pie”—endures within our profession. If anything, partnership may guarantee young attorneys more pie than they could have ever anticipated.

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