Fewer Attorneys Making Partner

With an eye toward cutting costs during the economic downturn, U.S. law firms have made notable changes in staffing, a recent survey indicates. Cuts were made at the bottom of the personnel pyramid, with 43 percent of firms laying off paralegals and 44 percent making trims to the associate ranks, according to the survey of 218 law firms conducted by legal consultancy Altman Weil. There was a simultaneous upswing in the use of contract lawyers in 2009, with 39 percent of firms relying on the efforts of nonpermanent attorneys.

But the most significant staffing sea change took place at the top-partnership offers decreased at many firms last year, and more of the same was reported in 2010. In its analysis of survey findings, Altman Weil notes that "partnership in U.S. law firms is now harder to attain" and "firms will maintain their profits per partner, in large part, by managing the number of partners they admit."

Firm Partner Trends
	2009	2010 (projected)
De-equitized partners	26.6%	18.8%
Created or increased a nonequity tier	17.4%	13.8%
Extended their partner track	14.3%	8.3%
Made fewer partnership offers	39.4%	23.4%
Source: "2010 Law Firms in Transition" by Thomas S. Clay and Eric A. Seeger, Altman Weil

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