"Currently a mid-level at a V5 in a relatively niche practice group where our firm reigns supreme. Looking up, I see lots of capable folks getting to the very senior associate level, and then getting turned down for partnership. My goal is to be an equity partner."If a firm's not making partners, it's just because they don't have to. So firms will only make you a partner if they have to make you a partner. And the only reason the firm would have to make you a partner is if they're gonna lose a lot of money by you leaving. And it sounds to me like they have a lot of people that wanna work there, and a brand and so they have plenty of people that are gonna make it easy for them to make partner and make it easy for them to continually make money. So the only way you can possibly make partner there and be an equity partner anywhere, is if you are able to bing in business, or if the firm can not find anyone like you, that would be the only way you could do that. What that means is that means you could move to a smaller market, move to a smaller firm. You could do that or you can start bringing in business.
I don't know exactly what it is you do, but if you bring in business then the firm obviously will make more money with you than without you. The business is great for them, because what a firm does is if you have $4 million in business, they can pay you a million and a half dollars. And then the two and a half million is extra money for them. And then they don't want you to leave. Or the other option would be to get very close to the biggest Rainmaker, become absolutely indispensable to that person. Then they may give you their business when they leave. That's how a lot of people make partner in large firms. They take over the books of business of more senior people and when they leave then they become equity partners.
I've seen a lot of people do stuff like that. Your odds of becoming a partner at another firm. I think you could definitely sell your experience to a mid or lower ranked firm or move to a lower rank big law firm or move markets. If you're a mid-level associate, I would think about potentially looking around right now, just to be safe, and seeing what the market looks like. Because, if you move to a market that's a smaller to mid-sized market, then you could be one of the only people in that market doing that sort of work. And that can be very profitable for you, profitable for that firm from a business standpoint. The situation you're in right now there's just too many people that you're competing with for the same job, and they have no problem hiring people to do what you're doing.
There's no incentive for them to make you a partner. And that's just how it works. Your only option in that situation is really to think about looking elsewhere.
