Each year, law firms around the country welcome into their partnerships the best and the brightest, or so they say, from among those young lawyers who have attained the requisite seniority and, presumably, degree of accomplishment.
 
Here's what you need to succeed as a new law firm partner.


For some, the lucky ones perhaps, this rite of passage is well deserved, as they take their place in a partnership defined by well-articulated and rigorously upheld standards. These new partners know what they have worked so hard to achieve, and can look forward to a bright and successful future.

However, too many new partners, potentially a majority, once all firms of all sizes in all markets are considered, have entered partnerships in transition, where it is clear that the old standards of partnership ('do good work, last seven years') can no longer apply, but the new standards are in a state of flux. Promotion in these firms is often driven by perceived necessity, politics and a sense of obligation as much as by any perception that the individual has met well-articulated standards beyond being a good quality, hardworking lawyer.