Partner (business rank)

Last updated

A partner in a law firm, accounting firm, consulting firm, or financial firm is a highly ranked position, traditionally indicating co-ownership of a partnership in which the partners were entitled to a share of the profits as "equity partners". The title can also be used in corporate entities where equity is held by shareholders.

Contents

Law firms

In law firms, partners are primarily those senior lawyers who are responsible for generating the firm's revenue. The standards for equity partnership vary from firm to firm. Many law firms have a "two-tiered" partnership structure, in which some partners are designated as "salaried partners" or "non-equity" partners, and are allowed to use the "partner" title but do not share in profits. This position is often given to lawyers on track to become equity partners so that they can more easily generate business; it is typically a "probationary" status for associates (or former equity partners who do not generate enough revenue to maintain equity partner status). The distinction between equity and non-equity partners is often internal to the firm and not disclosed to clients, although a typical equity partner could be compensated three times as much as a non-equity partner billing at the same hourly rate. In America, senior lawyers not on track for partnership often use the title "of counsel", whilst their equivalents in Britain use the title "Senior Counsel". [1]

Partner compensation varies considerably. A 2012 survey by Major, Lindsey & Africa found that law firm partners' average annual compensation[ where? ] was $681,000 ($896,000 for equity partners, $335,000 for non-equity partners) and tended to go up based on number of years in the partnership: [2]

Accounting firms

Accounting firms were traditionally established as legal partnerships with partners sharing the profits. Today, the financial and consulting services firms which originated from accounting firms, such as the Big Four accounting firms, retain the title of Partner as a senior position and to indicate a profit-sharing status. To become a partner is considered a significant career milestone. [3]

Based on the role, tradition or local regulations partners may include the

A modern procedure is to take the role of associate partner before becoming a partner in some consulting services. [4]

Financial industry

Many major investment banks were historically structured as partnerships, and some such as Goldman Sachs maintain a class of "partners" at the top of their corporate hierarchy. In such firms, the "partners" are typically the highest-compensated managing directors as well as more senior executives.[ citation needed ] The term is also used for senior executives in the private equity industry. In these industries, partners are often compensated millions of dollars per year. [5]

Related Research Articles

Corporate titles or business titles are given to corporate officers to show what duties and responsibilities they have in the organization. Such titles are used by publicly and privately held for-profit corporations, cooperatives, non-profit organizations, educational institutions, partnerships, and sole proprietorships that also confer corporate titles.

Private equity (PE) is capital stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public. In the field of finance, private equity is offered instead to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the companies. In casual usage, "private equity" can refer to these investment firms rather than the companies that they invest in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Partnership</span> Business organization in which parties cooperate in an endeavor

A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations may partner to increase the likelihood of each achieving their mission and to amplify their reach. A partnership may result in issuing and holding equity or may be only governed by a contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law firm</span> Business entity formed to practice law

A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other matters in which legal advice and other assistance are sought.

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP is a white-shoe law firm, and is New York City's oldest law firm and one of the oldest continuously operating legal practices in the United States. Attorney John Wells founded the practice in 1792. Cadwalader's Lower Manhattan headquarters is one of five offices in three countries. In 2022, the firm had approximately 400 attorneys.

Hill & Barlow was a law firm in Boston, Massachusetts that was dissolved on December 7, 2002 after 106 years of business. Founded in 1899, the firm had been one of the city's oldest and most elite firms, and was also the 12th largest in Boston at the time of its dissolution, employing 138 lawyers. The firm was founded by Arthur D. Hill, known for defending the anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti. Hill began his practice in 1895 and joined forces in 1899 with Robert Homans and Robert Barlow to form Hill & Barlow. Nevertheless, the firm celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 1895.

A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C.. It is the second-largest lobbying firm in the United States by revenue.

Of counsel is the title of an attorney in the legal profession of the United States who often has a relationship with a law firm or an organization but is neither an associate nor partner. Some firms use titles such as "counsel", "special counsel", and "senior counsel" for the same concept. According to American Bar Association Formal Opinion 90-357, the term "of counsel" is used to describe a "close, personal, continuous, and regular relationship" between the firm and counsel lawyer. In large law firms, the title generally denotes a lawyer with the experience of a partner, but who does not carry the same workload or business development responsibility.

A Swiss association is a type of corporation in Swiss law. It is similar to the Anglo-American voluntary association. Unlike in Germany, a Swiss association does not need to be registered in order to obtain legal personality, but must be registered if it "conducts a commercial operation". An association can serve as a non-profit organization (NPO) or non-governmental organization (NGO) and this form is used by several Swiss sections of international NGOs such as Amnesty International, and the World Wildlife Fund, by business firms or by international organizations such as the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The form can also be used by political parties and alliances, such as trade unions.

Sidley Austin LLP is an American multinational law firm with approximately 2,300 lawyers in 21 offices worldwide. It was established in 1866 and its headquarters is at One South Dearborn in Chicago's Loop. It is one of the largest law firms in the world in terms of revenue. Among its alumni are former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama.

The American Lawyer is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM, were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.

McDermott Will & Emery is an international law firm with a diversified business practice. The firm is one of the largest-grossing law firms in the United States and globally, and its lawyers represent a wide range of commercial, industrial, and financial enterprises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taxation of private equity and hedge funds</span>

Private equity funds and hedge funds are private investment vehicles used to pool investment capital, usually for a small group of large institutional or wealthy individual investors. They are subject to favorable regulatory treatment in most jurisdictions from which they are managed, which allows them to engage in financial activities that are off-limits for more regulated companies. Both types of fund also take advantage of generally applicable rules in their jurisdictions to minimize the tax burden on their investors, as well as on the fund managers. As media coverage increases regarding the growing influence of hedge funds and private equity, these tax rules are increasingly under scrutiny by legislative bodies. Private equity and hedge funds choose their structure depending on the individual circumstances of the investors the fund is designed to attract.

Reed Smith LLP is a global law firm with more than 1,500 lawyers in 30 offices throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Bingham McCutchen LLP was a global law firm with approximately 850 attorneys in nine US offices and five international offices. It ceased operations in late 2015, when several hundred of its partners and associate lawyers left the firm to join Philadelphia-based Morgan Lewis.

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP was a global law firm headquartered in New York City, United States. The firm was formed in 2007 through the merger of Dewey Ballantine and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae. Dewey & LeBoeuf was known for its corporate, insurance, litigation, tax, and restructuring practices. Some of the firm's leaders were indicted for fraud for their role in allegedly cooking the company's books to obtain loans while hiding the firm's financial plight. At the time of its bankruptcy filing, it employed over 1,000 lawyers in 26 offices around the world.

Clyde & Co is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm is one of the top 10 largest law firms in the City of London and has the largest dispute resolution practice of any UK law firm. It employs 2,600 legal professionals and more than 5,000 total staff. In 2022–23, Clyde & Co's revenue was £788.6 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carried interest</span> Fee paid to an investment manager.

Carried interest, or carry, in finance, is a share of the profits of an investment paid to the investment manager specifically in alternative investments. It is a performance fee, rewarding the manager for enhancing performance. Since these fees are generally not taxed as normal income, some believe that the structure unfairly takes advantage of favorable tax treatment, e.g. in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multidisciplinary professional services networks</span>

Multidisciplinary professional services networks are organizations formed by law, accounting and other professional services firms to offer clients new multidisciplinary approaches solving increasingly complex issues. They are a type of professional services network which operates to provide services to their members. They operate in the same way as accounting firm networks and associations and law firm networks. They do not practice a profession such as law or accounting but provide services to members so they can serve clients needs. Their aim is to provide members involved in doing business internationally with access to experienced, tried and tested, reliable, and responsive professional advisers who know their local jurisdiction intimately as well as the intricacies of cross border business.

References

  1. ↑ Barnes, Harrison. "What Law Firm Titles Mean: Of Counsel, Non-Equity Partner, Equity Partner Explained". BCG Attorney Search. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  2. ↑ Severson, Dana. "The Average Hourly Wage for a Law Firm Partner". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
  3. ↑ Role: Partner
  4. ↑ Associate Partner Responsibilities
  5. ↑ Dumon, Marv. "How To Make $1 Million In Finance". Investopedia. Retrieved 29 February 2016.

See also

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.