One of modern commercial practice’s favourite cliches – that lockstep partnerships cannot survive at major law firms – has had plenty of ammunition of late.
Only last month, Clifford Chance (CC) unveiled to its part-nership proposals that would arguably make the firm the first magic circle practice to substantially move away from the model. CC’s move follows more limited initiatives at Lovells and Ashurst. The former is mid-way through a review of its lockstep; the latter is expected to dish out a handful of substantial bonuses to top performers this year.
