Mandatory retirement policies have dogged Big Law for decades, creating partnership tensions and fractures in some law firm client relationships. But more law firms are beginning to loosen their retirement policies, analysts say, even when it creates more challenges with younger generations of lawyers.

The departure of Randy Mastro from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he spent more than 20 years, was the latest reminder of retirement rules in Big Law. At 65, Mastro hit the firm’s mandatory retirement age for top leadership positions in 2021, stepping down from the firm’s executive committee. The next year he left for King & Spalding.