A leading Biglaw firm, Covington & Burling, is charting its own course by eschewing the billing and origination credits system traditionally employed in partner compensation. Despite being an unconventional approach, they’ve found success with this model. Covington brought in a gross revenue of $1,523,994,000 in 2022, ranking 28 on the most recent Am Law 100.
According to firm chair Doug Gibson, Covington’s approach to partner compensation is not based on billing or origination credits but focuses instead on “their overall contributions to the firm.”
Gibson explains: “It’s a subjective standard, and we take into account all the different ways in which partners contribute. It, of course, includes efforts and successes in developing client relationships and generating work, but it also includes other contributions such as working as members of teams to do great creative work for clients, pro bono efforts and assisting on firm committee work.”
While other legal pundits find the absence of origination credits risky due to the reliance on perceptions instead of data in setting pay, Covington’s leadership and partnership argue this compensation model is integral to the firm’s team-focused approach to client work and provides a competitive advantage in lateral hires.
This teamwork-oriented strategy ensures all legal matters are adequately staffed. Gibson emphasized: “If clients are going to get the full benefit of our expertise, we need our partners to work well together. Our compensation model creates that atmosphere.”
Covington’s model is a departure from traditional compensation structures used by most Biglaw firms, but Gibson remains convinced of its efficacy. Considering current profits per partner stand at $2,328,000, Covington’s unconventional model seems to hold its own, and there’s no plan to alter this successfully proven approach.