A glance at this year’s partner promotion round would lead the casual observer to conclude that leading UK firms are well into recovery mode after several lean years. The top 25 UK firms have generally internally promoted more partners than they did in 2004 and many are out in the market actively hiring laterally.
Yet a closer look reveals wide divergences between firms in terms of the spread of promotions and the increasing gulf between the ratios of equity partners to fee earners that firms are using.
