A Nonequity Partnership Tier Won't Impact The Number Of New Equity Partners At This Biglaw Firm
This firm is still committed to awarding equity partnerships to hardworking senior associates.
Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
As has always been the case at Paul Weiss, the path to equity partnership remains eight years. In some cases, seven years. Creating a nonequity tier has not affected the path to equity partner.
While the vast majority of elite law firms have seen their number of equity partners decrease (or remain flat) over the past decade, we have increased our number of equity partners by nearly 50% over the past decade, from 143 to 212.
I expect that we’ll make at least as many equity partners this year as we have in recent years.
— Brad Karp, chairman of Paul Weiss, in comments given to the American Lawyer, on why the introduction of a nonequity partner tier at the firm won’t impact the minting of new equity partners at the firm. This past summer, Karp explained that for associates “who fall just short of what we believe is required to become an equity partner, we will confer a nonequity partner title … and we’ll track them for a few years and see whether they develop into equity partner talent.”
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
