s/o biglaw salaries—ceiling on non-equity partner?

[Anonymous]

Is there a ceiling on what a non-equity partner can expect to make even if they’re generating a healthy amount of business?

[Anonymous]

Depends on the firm. In some firms they don't want overlap between income and equity unless you are a recent lateral partner on a guarantee deal. So the ceiling would be the equity floor.

Some firms have origination based bonuses for income partners so there wouldn't be a ceiling for that portion.

Why would you want to be an income partner if you are generating significant business?

[Anonymous]

This really is firm dependent. At a place like Latham, non-equity partners can make $1.5M+. At a lot of other firms, most non-equity partners hover between $500K-$1M. Some firms it's over $1M, but not as many as you'd think.

If you're originating over $3M, it's worth it to look elsewhere if you're not getting promoted to equity at your own firm. Find a good legal recruiter to talk to (there are a few great ones in DC and many awful ones, do research before working with one of them).