Amid unprecedented billing rate hikes and intensified competition for rainmaking talent, Am Law 100 law firms have once again raised the stakes on partner pay. In 2023, these firms increased the average distance between their highest- and lowest-paid equity partners, escalating the ratio from 9.8-to-1 in 2022 to 10.3-to-1, according to data from an ALM survey on pay ratios. In contrast, Second Hundred firms saw a slight decrease in their average spread, as they focused on building leverage and increasing lawyer head count last year (read more).