As many law firms increase their associate pay and add nonequity partners, they may leave an established rank of attorney in the dust. Counsel and of counsel roles used to be a stepping stone between associates and equity partners, but now nonequity partners may fill that role.
“For a lot of firms, nonequity partners are replacing counsel to a large degree,” said Sabina Lippman, a partner at the legal recruiting firm Lippman Jungers. “Firms like Kirkland are making associates into nonequity partners earlier and earlier, which is creating a domino effect where some firms are making nonequity partners earlier as well.”
