Lateraling from Senior Assoc to (Salary) Partner? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a junior in a v7 firm (S&C, Skadden, DPW) and just wondering if it's possible to lateral from senior assoc (like 8th-10th year) straight to partner at any V30 firm? Scenario: no client book, top 10% performer and no partner slots avail (or not feasible because of lack of own business). Hope this doesn't turn into a KE thread

[nealric]

I'm a junior in a v7 firm (S&C, Skadden, DPW) and just wondering if it's possible to lateral from senior assoc (like 8th-10th year) straight to partner at any V30 firm? Scenario: no client book, top 10% performer and no partner slots avail (or not feasible because of lack of own business). Hope this doesn't turn into a KE thread

Problem is that the random v30 doesn't know you are a "top 10% performer." You can say it, but they may not take much stock in that.

Really, it just boils down to the firm's needs and policies. If they are in desperate need for a Jr. Partner to service business XYZ, and their partnership committee has policies in place that permit such a move, then it might happen. A lot of firms would just give you a counsel title with a promise to review for partnership after a year. Your leverage will depend quite a bit by how hot your sub-practice is. But you can't know for sure until you negotiate. It might help if you are lateralling into a secondary market.

And of course there's Kirkland. But even Kirkland won't automatically give you a partner title unless your practice dovetails with what they need. It's not unheard of for a senior associate lateral to be offered an associate title with a promise of review after a year even there if they think you will have to take time to come up to speed.

[peoplearehungry]

I'm a junior in a v7 firm (S&C, Skadden, DPW) and just wondering if it's possible to lateral from senior assoc (like 8th-10th year) straight to partner at any V30 firm? Scenario: no client book, top 10% performer and no partner slots avail (or not feasible because of lack of own business). Hope this doesn't turn into a KE thread

Lol - what is a v7 firm? Like, you aren't top 5 but don't want to identify with 8-10 of the v10? What's with the weird cut-off?

To answer the substantive question, yes, this happens rather frequently. If your firm does departure memos, just read through a few of those. You will see gobs of people moving from senior associate at your firm to partner at firms a few rungs down. But, as the poster above gets at, it's gonna be dictated by the needs of the firm you're moving to. Also, you're going to likely have more success if you expand that search below the v30 line.

[Anonymous User]

That type of move is possible, but it's much more common to lateral to a counsel position. Regardless, no one cares that you work at a V7 firm, whatever that means. It's simply not the case that "any" lower-ranked firm would be happy to make you partner; you'll need to find a firm with a particular need for someone of your seniority and that is willing and able to extend a partnership offer.

As a junior associate, you certainly shouldn't count on pursuing this route when you're senior. Market conditions may change significantly by then. If you want to be partner, you ought to figure out by year 4-5 whether it's attainable at your current firm, and if not, you should find a firm where it is attainable. It's generally much easier to make partner at a firm where you've worked for 5+ years than at a firm where you're relatively new.

[Anonymous User]

Anon OP here. Thanks for the replies. 4th/5th year lateral argument sounds reasonable to me - fits the mold of another thread where it‘s mentioned that you know any partnership prospects at your firm after year 5.

The V7 stuff was just to spice things up. Contrarian at work I’m not at DPW just fyi.

Btw is there a real tangible advantage to start at V10 something for becoming partner at V50? I guess it’s about the quality of on-the-job training and then being better than your peers once you lateral, right? And of course, to maximize possibilities (lateraling down more easy than up kinda thinking)