Summary: BCG offers insight into the only 7 reasons why a law firm will promote an attorney to partner.
To most attorneys, making partner is the ultimate career goal. Yet, why aren’t there more partners? According to BCG, it’s because the system is set up to have many candidates who work grueling years as an associate but never reach their end goal.
“Most law firms do not want to make you partner. Of course they do not. If they make you a ‘real’ partner, they will suddenly have to share profits with you and that will decrease the income that the partners in the law firm make. You will suddenly be sharing the money they are bringing in and they will have to share with you regardless of what sort of money you are bringing in the door. They are not interested in this. Every partner, in every law firm, would prefer that you stay an ’employee,’ and they have all sorts of brilliant ways to keep you an employee,” BCG writes.
But even if law firms don’t want to make an attorney a partner, there are seven reasons why they will bestow that career milestone, according to BCG.
1. You have or will have a lot of business that the law firm can exploit.
2. You are connected to a powerful partner or group of partners.
3. You are connected to a powerful client or group of clients.
4. You work so hard that not promoting you would demotivate other associates.
5. The law firm is experiencing a series of departures and needs to keep people around.
6. The “partner” title is meaningless.
7. You have some sort of expertise, special skill or connection that the law firm cannot get elsewhere.
Overall, BCG writes that the benefits of making an attorney a partner have to outweigh the costs. If you can fit into one of these seven situations, then you have a very good chance of achieving your dream. For a detailed analysis, see the full article here.