Pity the poor, beleaguered partner. It’s not such a cushy job these days. I know the pressure to bring in business and keep fickle ­clients happy is relentless. And if you’re the head of the firm, you have to pacify the troops at home, too. The further you go up on the ­pyramid, the more thankless the job gets.

Do you really buy that? I don’t. Maybe I’m just a proletarian down deep, but my gut tells me that associates are the ones we should pity. Guess what? I am so right!