The Habits of Highly Effective Law Firm Partners

It’s harder to become a law firm equity partner these days, and harder to remain one as well. According to the Am Law 200 (published May 2008), nearly 85 percent of the highest-grossing firms in the United States have established a non-equity tier. Among the firms in the group that do not have non-equity partners, many are highly profitable New York-based and Washington, D.C.-based firms that have always been highly selective about entry into partnership in the first place.

Among the firms in the 2002 Am Law 200, their combined number of equity partners increased by only 1 percent from 2002 to 2008 while their total number of lawyers increased by 13 percent. Equity partners as a percentage of all lawyers decreased from 29 percent to 26 percent. Meanwhile, the number of non-equity partners in those firms increased by 71 percent. Non-equity partners as a percentage of all lawyers jumped from 9 percent to 14 percent. Non-equity partners as a percentage of all partners increased from 24 percent to 35 percent.