Jr Associate making partner in biglaw Forum

[AureliusCapital]

What are some steps a third year associate should be taking to start putting them into consideration for partner at a v30? I want to start positioning myself and have some ideas of moves I should be making, but wanted to get more insight.

[Anonymous User]

What are some steps a third year associate should be taking to start putting them into consideration for partner at a v30? I want to start positioning myself and have some ideas of moves I should be making, but wanted to get more insight.

1. Find an equity partner who is influential in your firm.
2. Do ridiculously good work for that partner and make the partner’s life easier, more profitable.
3. Minimize the number of partners you annoy. This generally means doing a very good job for everyone you work with and not turning down a lot of work.
4. Be very responsive. Respond to emails basically ASAP. Get work done with significant lead time.
5. Somewhat redundant of 1, but do all of this in a practice area that your firm will value and will be in demand by clients at the time you’re up for partner.
6. Pray that 5-8 years from now your practice area and sector aren’t down and that the partners you developed relationships with don’t leave.

[Lacepiece23]

What are some steps a third year associate should be taking to start putting them into consideration for partner at a v30? I want to start positioning myself and have some ideas of moves I should be making, but wanted to get more insight.

If not at a v20 or so, go get business. Book of business is king and you can even skip associate years.

[12YrsAnAssociate]

Get kompromat on rain makers.

[Whatislaw]

Get kompromat on rain makers.

Lol!

[Anonymous User]

If not at a v20 or so, go get business. Book of business is king and you can even skip associate years.

For the uninitiated, how does one go about getting business? Like, what does that process actually entail?

[Lacepiece23]

I’m not in biglaw anymore. But I have a good friend who brought a client before even starting at the firm.

Basically, get involved in business groups. Always make that next connection. Be the friend of a friend. And then hope that someone who isn’t a large institutional client needs a lawyer.

It’s kind of like going to Vegas and putting your money in that coin machine. It pushes the coins to the edge and you usually lose. But sometimes you have a small payout. And sometimes you win huge. But you have to keep putting coins in to play.

That metaphor is straight from the mouth of a rainmaking partner.

[Sackboy]

I think to large part the "developing business" component is severely overhyped and outdated. The Main clients of V50 firms are Fortune 500 companies, ultra-rich PE firms, and mature startups (e.g. Uber, Snap). Given the rates that big firms charge, you're unlikely to bring in a client, because the clients you would be most likely to bring in would be smaller and priced out by the firms rates. The key to making partner these days, in my opinion, is doing exceptional work and showing that you care about business development and client relationships. I've had several equity partners at all of the firms I've worked at (from V10 to V50) tell me that the folks who get equity are superstars that they think will organically create more work for the firm by servicing its largest clients extremely and then getting referrals/press/etc. that drives work to the firm. They're also associates/non-equity partners who are trusted to run new matters when the current equity partners are too swamped to take on the business. You're much more likely, in most areas of the law, to get a client by them seeing you were the partner on a major deal/case and then calling you up to handle a similar matter than you are buy having lunches/dinners/etc.

[Anonymous User]

I think to large part the "developing business" component is severely overhyped and outdated. The Main clients of V50 firms are Fortune 500 companies, ultra-rich PE firms, and mature startups (e.g. Uber, Snap). Given the rates that big firms charge, you're unlikely to bring in a client, because the clients you would be most likely to bring in would be smaller and priced out by the firms rates. The key to making partner these days, in my opinion, is doing exceptional work and showing that you care about business development and client relationships. I've had several equity partners at all of the firms I've worked at (from V10 to V50) tell me that the folks who get equity are superstars that they think will organically create more work for the firm by servicing its largest clients extremely and then getting referrals/press/etc. that drives work to the firm. They're also associates/non-equity partners who are trusted to run new matters when the current equity partners are too swamped to take on the business. You're much more likely, in most areas of the law, to get a client by them seeing you were the partner on a major deal/case and then calling you up to handle a similar matter than you are buy having lunches/dinners/etc.

This. Let's be realistic - nobody with potential to become a significant client is going to trust a junior associate to handle an important matter. An associate bringing in some small random project can actually be an annoyance to partners who
1. don't give a shit about it because it doesn't move the needle but now have to supervise you so the firm isn't accused of malpractice and
2. now lose your time and attention on their more important matters to your tiny project.

[Anonymous User]

Not sure I agree re: "business development is dead." There are LOTS of junior people on the buy and sell side; if you make friends now (or do good work with them, etc etc) a few will make managing director / partner / etc. Those relationships are significant. Agree with Sackboy that another way to get equity is to be fantastic at servicing your firm's major institutional clients, but IMO worth noting that nobody really "owns" institutions anymore: S&C doesn't get all of Goldman's work, STB doesn't have a monopoly on Blackstone, etc. It's about relationships with people at institutions.

[OfThriceandTen]

Not sure I agree re: "business development is dead." There are LOTS of junior people on the buy and sell side; if you make friends now (or do good work with them, etc etc) a few will make managing director / partner / etc. Those relationships are significant. Agree with Sackboy that another way to get equity is to be fantastic at servicing your firm's major institutional clients, but IMO worth noting that nobody really "owns" institutions anymore: S&C doesn't get all of Goldman's work, STB doesn't have a monopoly on Blackstone, etc. It's about relationships with people at institutions.

No one is saying BD is dead. It's the idea that you need to "bring in business" -- i.e. have a friend at a smallish company that is going to give you their work -- that is outdated. Conflicts are real and to add to what someone said before about your tiny matter being more of a nuisance to partners than anything, consider it doubly/triply more annoying if it conflicts them out of a more profitable matter. Obviously you should be doing good work and making real connections with the relevant client team member and cultivating the institutional relationships, no one denies that.

[nealric]

Not sure I agree re: "business development is dead." There are LOTS of junior people on the buy and sell side; if you make friends now (or do good work with them, etc etc) a few will make managing director / partner / etc. Those relationships are significant. Agree with Sackboy that another way to get equity is to be fantastic at servicing your firm's major institutional clients, but IMO worth noting that nobody really "owns" institutions anymore: S&C doesn't get all of Goldman's work, STB doesn't have a monopoly on Blackstone, etc. It's about relationships with people at institutions.

No one is saying BD is dead. It's the idea that you need to "bring in business" -- i.e. have a friend at a smallish company that is going to give you their work -- that is outdated. Conflicts are real and to add to what someone said before about your tiny matter being more of a nuisance to partners than anything, consider it doubly/triply more annoying if it conflicts them out of a more profitable matter. Obviously you should be doing good work and making real connections with the relevant client team member and cultivating the institutional relationships, no one denies that.

I think this is an area where the firm you are at matters. If you are at a lower v100 type firm that regularly takes on relatively lower-dollar matters, an associate bringing in a matter that will generate $20k in billings could actually be seen as promising (especially if they do a few every year). If you are at v20 type firm, they probably wouldn't even let you take on such a matter because it's not worth their time to supervise and incur potential conflicts.

[Anonymous User]

Not sure I agree re: "business development is dead." There are LOTS of junior people on the buy and sell side; if you make friends now (or do good work with them, etc etc) a few will make managing director / partner / etc. Those relationships are significant.

This is the advice I keep getting. Over the past couple years I've asked the "how does one become good at generating new biz?" question to (1) the managing partner of a V10, (2) the office managing partner of a different V10, (3) the managing partner of a V30, and (4) senior equity partners at another 2-3 V30s. Every single one of them said the primary thing you can do as a junior is to casually build relationships with your junior counter-parties, clients, co-workers, law school classmates, and other people in your circle. Just collect tons and tons of professional friends and acquaintances in the legal or legal-adjacent world. Maintain those relationships for ~10 years and by the time you're up for partner, some number of those people will now be important decision-makers that can send you business (directly or indirectly).

There are other steps you can take, but that's the one that reliably comes up every time I ask someone who is themselves a rainmaker.

[hdr]

Do great work for a rainmaker and become his go-to associate for managing new matters. Then impress anyone in-house you work with; eventually they'll call you directly with legal questions, insist you be staffed on new matters, and maybe even give you small projects here and there. Always keep the rainmaker in the loop.

If you aren't getting opportunities to work with clients directly, find someone else to work for or lateral to another firm. Some partners are extremely protective of their client relationships, but I've found that most rainmakers are swamped with work and want competent associates and junior partners to handle their matters with minimal supervision.

[malibustacy]

What are some steps a third year associate should be taking to start putting them into consideration for partner at a v30? I want to start positioning myself and have some ideas of moves I should be making, but wanted to get more insight.

1. Find an equity partner who is influential in your firm.
2. Do ridiculously good work for that partner and make the partner’s life easier, more profitable.
3. Minimize the number of partners you annoy. This generally means doing a very good job for everyone you work with and not turning down a lot of work.
4. Be very responsive. Respond to emails basically ASAP. Get work done with significant lead time.
5. Somewhat redundant of 1, but do all of this in a practice area that your firm will value and will be in demand by clients at the time you’re up for partner.
6. Pray that 5-8 years from now your practice area and sector aren’t down and that the partners you developed relationships with don’t leave.

Doing all of this stuff only gets you to senior associate/counsel/NSP/income partner level at best these days.

Now you have to be a freak to make partner at a top firm - either 1). you're pretty darn good at the legal stuff, but more importantly have some ridiculous savant ability to connect with clients, draw in their business and be able to farm it down to motivated juniors to make money, or 2). you're some absolute fucking market-setting genius at the legal stuff and a deal making machine that hasn't taken a vacation in 10 years, and the partners offer you equity the moment you think about leaving because they become absolutely terrified at the prospect of losing you.

[Anonymous User]

Not sure I agree re: "business development is dead." There are LOTS of junior people on the buy and sell side; if you make friends now (or do good work with them, etc etc) a few will make managing director / partner / etc. Those relationships are significant.

This is the advice I keep getting. Over the past couple years I've asked the "how does one become good at generating new biz?" question to (1) the managing partner of a V10, (2) the office managing partner of a different V10, (3) the managing partner of a V30, and (4) senior equity partners at another 2-3 V30s. Every single one of them said the primary thing you can do as a junior is to casually build relationships with your junior counter-parties, clients, co-workers, law school classmates, and other people in your circle. Just collect tons and tons of professional friends and acquaintances in the legal or legal-adjacent world. Maintain those relationships for ~10 years and by the time you're up for partner, some number of those people will now be important decision-makers that can send you business (directly or indirectly).

There are other steps you can take, but that's the one that reliably comes up every time I ask someone who is themselves a rainmaker.

This is the main one. The young VPs and directors at the client level are hungry and doing good work for them, being responsive, being known as "the contact" for stuff is valuable. Getting drinks, dinner, etc., with them is key too, turns out a few of the guys I work with went to UG with LS and HS friends, you build connections through stuff like that, etc.

One of them jumped ship to another shop after I worked for them for a few years and a little bit after he did, I got a call asking if we wanted to work on a new deal for this shop (which we don't do work for previously).

There is a massive element of luck at play here but if you want to make it, you have to work these angles.