As competition for talent intensifies at the top of the legal market, Wall Street firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson has undertaken significant changes in the last few years, including overhauling its compensation system to become more competitive, tripling its nonequity partner ranks and adopting a partial black box model for partner compensation.

The moves, described to ALM by several attorneys familiar with the firm, are symbolic of the increasingly fierce lateral market among elite firms. They come as other firms have also adjusted their pay models, amid growing pressure to shift away from lockstep seniority-based partner compensation.