BigLaw firms create super tiers to reward top performers. They set expectations about partners’ earnings.
Law Firms
BigLaw firms set earnings expectations for partners, create ‘super tiers’ to reward top performers
October 31, 2024, 11:56 am CDT
As BigLaw firms focus more on metrics, many are setting earnings expectations for partners, according to legal recruiters. (Image from Shutterstock)
As BigLaw firms focus more on metrics, many are setting earnings expectations for partners, according to legal recruiters who spoke with Law.com.
The amounts vary, but some examples are equity-partner expectations of at least $5 million to $7 million in business per year, Mike Parrillo, a recruiter in New York and founder of the Parrillo Search Group, told Law.com.
“Law firms are getting more serious about setting clear expectations on business and even specific benchmarks for certain partners,” Parrillo said. “This comes as firms are thinking more critically about how profitability should be shared.”
Kristin Stark, a firm consultant and a principal at Fairfax Associates, said some firms are using “super points” or creating “super tiers” to reward the highest performers.
“By virtue of a super tier existing, it is raising the bar for everyone,” Stark told Law.com.
Firms are getting strict about expectations in a quest to increase profits per equity partner, said Susan Mendelsohn, a Chicago-based legal recruiter, in an interview with Law.com.
“They want to be Am Law 10 or 15 or 20, so perhaps being more strict in increasing or enforcing those levels,” she said.
