Preparing for Partnership

A Guide to Achieving Partnership in a Law Firm

By (author) Michael Roster, David J Parnell, Jennifer Bluestein, Pippa Blakemore, Paul Williams, Tom Bird, Nicky Owen, Tony Young, Hung Tran, Jean-Baptiste Lebelle, Claire Rason

Publication date:

14 September 2023

Length of book:

160 pages

Publisher

Globe Law and Business

Becoming a partner in a law firm is a significant milestone in a lawyer's career, and requires a combination of strong legal skills, business acumen, leadership abilities and a commitment to the firm's success. Preparing for Partnership reviews the essential steps that lawyers need to take to make partnership a reality. This book outlines the critical factors for success, from building a strong track record to developing a loyal client base, demonstrating leadership skills and meeting the firm's criteria. Contributors to the book discuss how to network and build relationships within the firm, review the financial aspects of partnership, and how to seek feedback and mentorship from other partners. Preparing for Partnership is an invaluable resource for lawyers seeking to achieve the ultimate career milestone of partnership, and for team leaders and management as they help aspiring partners to prepare. This book will help lawyers navigate the complex path to partnership and realize their full potential in the legal profession.

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix About the authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv Chapter 1: What does “partner” even mean? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 By Michael Roster, former managing partner, Morrison & Foerster’s Los Angeles office Some economic factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Doing excellent legal work matters – a lot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Time to partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Your clients are both outside and inside the firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Some personal factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 In conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chapter 2: So you want to make partner? Evaluating your firm’s partnership prospects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 By David Parnell, founder of True North Partner Placement Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Assumptions / disclaimers / expectations / axioms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Evaluate your readiness first . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Evaluate your firm’s readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Your competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Associate investment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Chapter 3: Demonstrating readiness for partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 By Jennifer Bluestein, chief talent and HR officer, Perkins Coie Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Being a great lawyer – excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Have a brand or specialty that sets you apart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Self-sustaining network within the firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Understand the business and where you fit in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Create a business plan that aligns with the firm’s strategy and platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Generating a book of business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Developing a team, including a lieutenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Firm citizenship – what does it mean and why demonstrate it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Chapter 4: Making the choice about partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 By Claire Rason, director, Client Talk Why we must remember it’s a choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Gender imparity at partnership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 The impact of choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Is it about when we have to make a choice? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The confidence factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Common concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The fear of business development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Authentic leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Juggling other commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 “It didn’t look like fun” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Getting to gender parity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Implications for diversity initiatives more broadly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Chapter 5: The business and personal traits of a partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 By Pippa Blakemore, The PEP Partnership LLP Strategic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Management and business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Personal traits of a partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Chapter 6: Relationships are (the) key to a successful and fulfilled career . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 By Paul Williams, managing partner, Denver office, Shook Hardy & Bacon Where do relationships begin? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 The cultivation of relationships – mutual respect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 The power and privilege of relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Tending to avoid mending relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 It’s not too late to identify and build relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Chapter 7: The importance of relationships – the seven pillars of development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 By Pippa Blakemore, The PEP Partnership LLP Understanding the importance of strong relationships . . . . . . . . . 81 Knowing with whom you should build and maintain durable relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 The mindset that lawyers need to progress from associate to partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Principles of nurturing relationships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Where to relationship-build to strengthen your future when you become a partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Appropriate communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 How to turn these contacts into a loyal client base and a strong book of business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Chapter 8: Business development for the aspiring partner . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 By Tom Bird, bestselling business author, trainer and keynote speaker The context of BD for an associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 What clients want over and above the work – the starting point for any BD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Key priorities for associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 What is the “right” kind of relationship to build? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 The role of goal-setting in BD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Chapter 9: Financial management 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 By Tony Young, partner, and Hung Tran, partner, BDO Business Services Understanding the drivers of the firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Impact of structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Due diligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Firm-wide governance and discipline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Correct management of working capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Distribution management and policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Growth prospects and succession . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Preparation begets success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Chapter 10: The practicalities and realities of financial management as a partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 By Nicky Owen, partner, professional practices team, Crowe UK LLP Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Legal background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Reward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Partnership capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Statutory accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Partnership accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Management accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Balance sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Partners’ accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Profit and loss account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Management information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Demystifying the finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Chapter 11: Tax and accounting as a partner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 By Nicky Owen, partner, professional practices team, Crowe UK LLP Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 How will you be taxed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 A partner in a UK LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Salaried member rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Non-UK LLPs and other types of partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Tax rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 National Insurance Contributions (NIC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 How you will be assessed for income tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 What are the taxable profits? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Tax administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 Tax payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Late paid tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Tax reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 International matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Partnership capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Pension contributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Chapter 12: Wellbeing and partnership in law firms – challenges and opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 By Jean-Baptiste Lebelle, head of HR, Allen & Overy Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Wellbeing – a continuing challenge for partners in a complex and moving environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Resources and strategies for partner wellbeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 Wellbeing requires a holistic and multidimensional approach with concrete initiatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 About Globe Law and Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159