By Murray Gottheil | August 21, 2025
In Part One, I explained that as a young buck, becoming a partner was the ultimate goal of every young lawyer. I suggested that this type of thinking is, for good reason, falling from favour.
There are good and bad things about being a partner in a law firm, and today’s young lawyers would be well advised to understand them all before accepting a partnership invitation.
Just to be clear, in this Part Two, I will be speaking about full equity partnerships, not to be confused with other versions that deviously masquerade as real partnerships. I’ll address the pretenders in a subsequent article.
Of course, leading the pack of advantages is more money.
In theory, partners get to split the profits generated by associates and non-equity partners. This assumes that the associates are generating profits beyond their salary and overheads, which they will be doing in a well-run firm where everyone is busy.
However, young lawyers who seek to become partners must realize that not all partners are created equal, and it is the partners who have the most client origination credits and billings who will be taking home most of the money. The calculation that a young partner must make is whether, with sufficient billings and clients, they can do just as well (or better) without becoming a partner, especially if they practice in a lower-overhead setting than most large or medium-sized law firms.
The next big advantage is prestige.
The profession has successfully sold clients the idea that partners are smarter than lawyers who are not partners, a questionable assertion in some cases. What is true is that frequently lawyers will find it easier to market themselves if they can call themselves a ‘partner’. Since the real secret to success in the legal profession is having control of a client base, it may make sense for some of the lawyers to choose partnership to enhance their client-generating ability. Keep in mind, however, is that there are other ways to generate a client base.
If prestige won’t help you develop a client base, then I suggest you get over your ego and make your decision based on more important business considerations.
Running a distant third in the reasons to become a partner is the ability to exert control over the direction of the firm. In large firms, this is pretty much a myth, since rank-and-file partners have very little control. In smaller firms, there is some reality to it.
So, in summary, the theoretical reasons to become a partner are money, prestige, and control. Some would add job security, although in reality, if you have a client base, you have job security, whether you are a partner or not.
In Part Three, I will talk about the reasons not to become a partner. Stay tuned.
Murray is a happily retired lawyer who lives in the country, drives a pick-up truck, writes, teaches and mentors. You can reach him at murray@murraygottheil.com or see what he is up to at lawanddisorderinc.com.
Partnership – Not The Holy Grail, Part One: Introduction
Aren’t Non-Equity Partners Really Just Glorified Associates?
To Everything There is A Season