Four years after Lehman Brothers died and the national economy plunged into a deep crisis, the legal marketplace remains splintered, uncertain and likely to stay that way. The Great Recession hasn’t sunk all boats, nor lifted them. The health of practices varies by lawyer and practice group; within the same firm we find corridors never busier and others filled with lawyers who have little to do but pray for the patience of their partners.
The stress is palpable. Jobs and status are at risk. In The American Lawyer’s recent survey of the leaders of the Am Law 200 the top-grossing firms in the United States 46 percent said they expected to de-equitize partners in 2013. More 55 percent expected to ask at least one partner to leave. (Five percent planned to push out at least 11.) Partnerships, unlike diamonds, aren’t forever.
