Over the last five years, law firms have significantly reshaped their leverage models, focusing particularly on increasing their nonequity partner tier. A clear shift in strategy has been reported by some of the most profitable law firms, fostering a robust growth in their income partner populations.
As indicated by the 2024 Client Advisory from Hildebrandt Consulting and Citi’s Global Wealth at Work Law Firm Group, 83% of large firms anticipate an increase in their income partner population over the next two years. This represents a significant increase from the 68% of large firms who projected growth in that group during a survey conducted last year. This trend can be aptly described as a ‘staggering jump’.
The income partner classes at some of the most profitable firms have seen an average annual growth of 13.4% between 2017 and 2022, as revealed in a report released this week. Meanwhile, other large, two-tier partner firms have seen their growth rates around 4% over the same period.
For more detailed insights, you can read the full report here.