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Just curious if there's a golden ratio of partners to associates? Or should the leverage be as high/as low as possible? Never found the answer to this question so thought I'd ask here.

Generally, the more "leverage", or associates to partners, the more disposable you are and the less likely you're at a place interested in making partners. Some firms operate on very low leverage models (like Wachtell) where if you survive in the system then you have a real shot at partner. That being said, low leverage generally means you're going to have more responsibility and probably work harder (or at least be able to coast/slack off). For partners, economically, high leverage is almost always ideal unless you run a place with a unique fee structure like Wachtell or a contingency fee litigation firm. That being said, some very prestigious and well-paying partnerships realize higher leverage would be a better idea and instead opt for lower leverage as a cultural element of the firm (you see this all of the time at boutiques).

Thanks! Which model in your opinion has the bigger propensity to layoff associates? Or are they really about the same?

mandrewsf wrote: ↑

Thu May 05, 2022 9:21 pm

Thanks! Which model in your opinion has the bigger propensity to layoff associates? Or are they really about the same?

A highly-leveraged firm will generally go for cuts first. That being said, this only really applies when you're judging firms with a Susman Godfrey-type leverage to firms with a Latham/Kirkland-type leverage. If you're comparing a firm that has 5 associates per partner to one that has 6 or 7, you're going to largely get the same results when bad times roll around.