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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So, a few things that might help you put this into perspective:

- Not all partners are equity partners, which is what you usually think of when you think of a law firm partner. In recent years, more firms have started naming "income" or "non-equity" partners. These individuals are called partners but they are more like counsel/associates in terms of their pay. Most of their income comes from their salary, and then they are eligible for bonuses. Income partners can make as little as 300k before bonus. Their bonuses are more similar to a senior associate or counsel bonus and will usually be based on billable hours.

- An equity partner is a co-owner in the firm and is usually compensated via a combination of base pay and bonus, which for partners is more like a profit payment -- as co-owners in the firm, they earn a percentage of the firm's profits. The bonus usually constitutes the majority of their pay and is why partner comp at most firms varies so much. It can vary year to year based on firm profits -- in a good year partners will make more, and in a bad year less, and this is much more true for equity partners than for associates/counsel, who are generally given a predictable bonus based on billable hours and seniority (thought they are sometimes given a special bonus on top of this if the firm had a really good year). It can also vary from person to person, as the vast majority of firms vary bonuses based on things like origination credit (the partner who brought in the client), billable hours (both their hours and sometimes also the total billables of the teams they oversee), seniority, and other factors. Usually there is a compensation committee that will make these determinations and it's generally more of an art than a science. Partner compensation can be hugely political within firms.

Which is why you see massive differences in pay from partner to partner, even within the same firm. There is a big difference in pay between income and equity partners, and then additionally a big difference between partners who have originated a lot of clients ("rainmakers") and those who mostly maintain relationships with existing clients ("maintenance" or "relationship" partners). There is also a question about shared origination credit. Traditionally, the most senior partner on a pitch team will get the origination credit, but the team may include several partners, including the partner who will wind up doing or overseeing most of the work for the client. This senior partner can sometimes be at a phase in their career where they no longer bill many hours at all, but their name and reputation is critical for bringing in new clients or expanding the scope of work with existing clients, and this can generate resentment among younger partners who do not or cannot originate new clients on their own, but have high billables and are responsible for keeping clients happy (a hard, demanding job). Many firms now are examine a shared origination credit to help more fairly allocate credit, and thus money, derived from specific clients.[/quote]

+1 none of our senior partners will leave.  And with no age limitation, they have no incentive to do so as they continue to make $$$.[/quote]

Anecdotal, but we know a partner who was asked to leave after about two decades of minimal work. [/quote]

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