Merit-based pay for partners is sweeping UK law firms, but still struggling to win hearts and minds, according to new research that shows so-called eat-what-you-kill systems of reward are often unpopular with senior lawyers.
The latest Legal Week/ EJ Legal Big Question survey found that 29% of respondents work for a firm with a purely merit-based system, while a further 24% had a predominately merit-driven system. In contrast, only 19% of respondents work in firms with ‘a pure lockstep’, while a further 29% work in a modified lockstep, which primarily pays partners on the basis of seniority.
