Once
upon
a
time,
there
were
two
classes
of
lawyers
in
law
firms:
partners
and
associates.
The
associates
typically
came straight out
of
law
schools,
worked
for
5-7
years
under
the tutelage of
the
partners,
and
then most
of
them
became
partners.
The
ones
who didn’t
would often
end
up
in-house
as
clients,
so
it
behooved
everyone
to
treat
each
other
with
some
respect.
The
partners
shared
in
the
profits
and
decision-making
and
were generally at
the
firm
of
the
rest
of
their
career.
2026
Law
Firm
Reality
That
time
is
long
since
gone. Today,
partners change firms
like
prize
college
athletes willy-nilly
transfer
to schools offering a
better
deal.
Partners
that
don’t perform are
“de-equitized”
and
either
demoted
or
asked
to
leave.
And
there
is
a
new
class
of
lawyers
—
the
“nonequity “partner.
Nonequity
partners are
PINOs
—
partners
in
name
only.
They
typically
don’t
share
in
profits
and
have
no
say
in
decision-making.
They
are
in
fact employees of
firms,
just
like
associates.
The
only
benefit
they
get
is
the
ability
to
hold
themselves
out
as
“partners”
to
clients,
itself
a sleight of
hand
designed
to
make
clients think
they
are getting something
they
aren’t,
a real partner
working
on
their
case.
Why the Nonequity?
The
profession,
er,
business,
got
into
this
in
the
great
expansion
of
lawyers
that
began
in
the
80s. All
of sudden,
firms
were
faced
with
large
classes
of
associates
that
were
up
for partnership.
They
were
also
faced
with
more distinctions in
talent
within
associate
ranks.
More
than
that,
as
the
law
became
more
of
a
business
and
less
a
profession,
talent
was more
and
more
defined
as
origination
of
business,
profitability, and
hours
worked.
There
was
less
room
for
talented
lawyers
needed
to
work
the
cases
who
didn’t
necessarily
have
business origination skills. But
the
law
firms
and
equity
partners
thought
they
couldn’t
afford
to
lose
these
“worker
bees,”
as
they
called
them.
Hence
a
new
category
that
cost
the
equity
partners
little.
And
there
was
another
factor.
Since
partners
share
profits,
it
stands to
reason
that
the
fewer
partners
to
share
with,
the
greater
the
share
to
each.
All
of
this
culminated
in
the
new
nonequity
class.
Today,
it is standard
in
most
large
law
firms
for
there
to
be
a
large group of
these nonequity partners
—
workers
with
little
voice,
who
could
be
fired
at
will
(even
in
today’s
times, de-equitizing an
equity
partner
requires
a
bit
of
hard
analysis),
and
who
were
expected
to
continue
to
work
like
associates
to
keep
their
heads
above
water.
So how’s
this
idea
working out
for
the
lawyers
caught
in
the
middle?
So, How’s that
Working
Out
for
You?
Equity
partners
would
say this
is
a
good
thing.
It
enables
younger
lawyers
who
can’t
quite
meet
partnership
standards
to
not
be unilaterally dumped
into
the
job
market.
It
assures
them
a
continued
job
(at
least as
long
as they
perform).
It
enables
the
firm
to
keep
the
talent
they
need
to serve the clients.
But
what
do
the nonequity partners
have
to
say? According to
a recent
article, in a flash Law.com
survey
of
1,345
attorneys, nonequity partners reported
the
lowest
satisfaction
scores
on
questions
about
compensation,
their
hourly
rates,
and
their
current
role
in
their
firms. Associates scored better
on all
of
these
categories.
Think
about
that paradox.
It
suggests
that associates are
more
satisfied
with
their
roles
than
the nonequity so-called
partners. Thanks
for
the
promotion.
And it’s easy
to
see
why nonequity
partners
aren’t
very
happy.
Nonequity
partners
are
held
to
a
higher
standard than
associates.
They
are
often
expected
to manage associates
and
their
profitability
but may
not
get
firm financial information
to
help
them
do
that.
They
have
little authority and
get
little recognition for
their
efforts.
In
many
respects,
they
are
treated
like
second-class
citizens. In
many
cases,
they
aren’t
allowed
to
sit
in
on
partner
meetings
or
if
they
are,
may
be
asked
to
leave
when
financial
or important issues
are
discussed.
One
other
surprising
finding, according
to
the
article, about
a
third
of
the
sample
are
required
to
provide
a
capital
contribution
to
receive
this
lofty
status,
just
like
equity
partners.
You have
to
pay
to
be
in
the club, but
you
can’t
use
the
facilities. You have
to
pay
for
a
promotion
that
feels
like
a
demotion.
And
it’s
getting
worse
as
law
firm
mergers
and
lateral
partners
results
in
equity
ranks
being increasingly closed.
For
all
these
reasons,
nonequity
partnership
isn’t
beloved
by
those
forced
into
it.
It’s
why
the
concept
faced
internal
resistance
when
first
proposed.
It’s
also
why
equity
partners
kept
pushing
for
it:
the
math
works for
them.
The
Impact
of Nonequity
However
one
views
whether
the
nonequity
distinction
is
good
or
bad,
it’s
not
going
to
change. The
real
difficulty
comes
from
thinking
we
are living in
the “once
upon
time” days
where
there
was
a
law
firm
culture
and
workplace
family.
It’s
long
gone.
Management has
to realize more
and
more professionals in
law
firms
are
not
happy.
That
dissatisfaction
impacts
productivity
and
law
firm
culture,
if
any
such
thing
remains
in
today’s
“it
just
business”
firm
workplace.
The
result: just
like
equity
partners,
when
nonequity
partners
aren’t
happy
where
they
are,
they
are
going
to
look
elsewhere.
With
the
advent
of
GenAI
tools
that reduce
the
learning
curve
for
all
sorts
of
legal
work,
nonequity
partners
have
more opportunities to
either
go
out
on
their
own
(with
the
word
partner
on
their
resume)
or
with
small
firms.
So
much
for
keeping
talented
lawyers
needed
to
do
the
work
who
don’t
originate
business.
The
result
is
increased volatility in
the
marketplace
all
the
way
around. There
is
less
institutional loyalty and
less willingness
to
act
for
the
good
of
the
firm for
long-range
planning
and
investment
initiatives.
In
today’s
world,
law
firms
are
just
a
business
with
players
that
make
business
decisions.
Maybe
that’s
a
good
thing
since
it
reflects
capitalism
in
its
basic
sense.
But
the
notion
of
a
law
firm
as
a
work
family
is
long
gone.
Thinking
that
there
are
any
remnants
is
a
mistake
for
associates,
nonequity
partners, equity
partners,
and
law
firm management. Just
like
law
firms
are
a
business,
so
are
the individuals who
work
in
it,
who
will
also
make
business
decisions.
Want
to
keep
nonequity
partners?
Better take
into
account how
they
view
the
whole
concept.
Stephen
Embry
is
a
lawyer,
speaker,
blogger,
and
writer.
He
publishes TechLaw
Crossroads,
a
blog
devoted
to
the
examination
of
the
tension
between
technology,
the
law,
and
the
practice
of
law.
Kathryn
