Q: I’m a first-year associate at a small firm and have brought in several clients including two large cases. Can I ask for a bonus for these cases? Is so, what’s reasonable to expect and how should I ask?
A: The ability to generate business is the key to career leverage and success for the law firm lawyer. Because in today’s law firms—big, medium and small—the “book of business” reigns supreme. The traditional path for law firm lawyers has been to learn the legal ropes as an associate with the expectation that after nine to 10 years associates would advance to rainmaker status. The law firms of yesteryear provided more opportunity and support for this transition: associates had more responsibility for client management and control. And as senior partners rode off into the sunset, books of business were passed down to the designated heir apparent. But in the Darwinian law firm environment of today, it’s a vastly different story. And associates are finding it increasingly more difficult to develop the client relations and business development skills in their formative years—leaving them frustrated and vulnerable come partnership time.
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