Why Some Law Firms Are Promoting More Partners This Year
Recent partnership announcements at several law firms contain some surprises: Some firms are promoting more to partnership this year than last.
One of the surprises was Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, which laid off around 100 lawyers last year and reported a 30 percent drop in profits per equity partner. The law firm promoted seven to partnerships compared to two last year, the American Lawyer reports.
Contractual obligations may be the reason for more promotions at Cadwalader, a source told the American Lawyer. Many of the lawyers were hired as laterals with the understanding that they would make partner this year, the source said.
The American Lawyer says other firms may be promoting more partners because of decisions made some time ago. “It’s hard to unscramble the eggs,” one partner told the publication. One law firm with a lengthy vetting process, Latham & Watkins, promoted 30 to partnerships this year, compared to 26 last year, and long-ago decisions may be the reason, the story says.
Partner profits at Latham dropped 21 percent last year, the Am Law Daily reports.
Many of the new partners at Cadwalader and Latham have equity status, the article says, but that may not be the case at other law firms with big partnership classes.
Meanwhile, several law firms promoted fewer partners this year, the story says. They included Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy; O’Melveny & Myers; Mayer Brown; Morrison & Foerster; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
