Cravath Cracks On Non-Equity Partnerships

//

Here’s your salary, partner.

For a very long time, being partner at a law firm meant something. Equity partners were all in it together,  sharing the firm’s risks and benefits. Over time the title has diluted — as non-equity “partnerships” became fancy versions of what used to be Counsel positions. Worse, they’re often career dead-ends for women and minorities that the firm can present as “partners” without actually sharing the wealth.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-top-300x250" ); });

After holding out for years, Cravath has decided to join in on the two-tier partner wave.

Sponsored Are You Using AI In Your Day-to-Day Practice? Please share your thoughts in this (always) brief and anonymous survey. From Above the Law  

From Bloomberg Law:

Cravath, Swaine & Moore has quietly created a salaried partner tier, making it the latest in a series of Wall Street law firms to revamp pay schemes in response to new competitive forces.

The firm “recently established the salary partner role,” Faiza Saeed, Cravath’s presiding partner, said Tuesday in an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg Law.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-middle-300x250" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-storycontent-440x100" ); }); googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-in-story-youtube-1x1" ); });

The firm says the move enables them to promote and retain senior talent. Sounds like lawyer speak for Cravath has a lot of attorneys that it doesn’t see as potential equal terms partners. Is this generation really just not up to the standards of yesteryear or are the folks at the top just holding on too tightly these days?

Cravath is unlikely to be the last firm to do this, rumblings have been underway that Paul Weiss is also considering the change. At least one thing is for sure — this bit of trivia is no longer accurate.

Sponsored Sponsored Managing a High Volume of Acquisitions with a Lean In-House Team How a veterinary services provider optimized contract workflows with Bloomberg Law Contract Solutions From Bloomberg Law   Sponsored Pioneering Ethical, Trustworthy Generative AI For Legal Research As a longstanding leader in legal AI, LexisNexis now pioneers ethical generative AI for legal research, enabling professionals to improve outcomes while upholding responsible AI… From LexisNexis   Sponsored Steno’s Web Deposition Software Now Available As A Zoom App for Easy Exhibit Marking and Sharing Learn how Steno Connect has been built to make it easier for Legal Professionals to use platforms like Zoom for remote depositions and exhibit handling. From Bob Ambrogi   Sponsored Countdown To Compliance Webinar: SEC Private Fund Reforms Ontra & Daniel Kahl, Partner at Kirkland & Ellis and former Acting Director of the SEC Division of Examinations, explore private fund adviser reforms. From Ontra  

Cravath Adds Salaried Partner Tier in Latest Wall Street Shift [Bloomberg Law]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

googletag.cmd.push( function() { // Display ad. googletag.display( "div-id-for-bottom-300x250" ); }); Sponsored Sponsored Are You Using AI In Your Day-to-Day Practice? Please share your thoughts in this (always) brief and anonymous survey. From Above the Law   Sponsored Countdown To Compliance Webinar: SEC Private Fund Reforms Ontra & Daniel Kahl, Partner at Kirkland & Ellis and former Acting Director of the SEC Division of Examinations, explore private fund adviser reforms. From Ontra   Topics

Biglaw, Cravath, Partnership Issues