Law Firm Life

Law firm life can be brutal. The system is a kind of pyramid scheme, where talent, youth and energy gets sucked in at the bottom, and a fountain of money rises to the top of the pyramid - towards the equity partners, who (in City firms at least) take home a partnership share that would make anyone but a banker blush.

But what happens to those who don't make partner? The answer is - burnout. Associates get better and better at what they do and after a while many - especially the good ones - find themselves with all the burdens and responsibilities of partnership, running cases, dealing with clients, but with few of the benefits. Sure, there are pay rises, but nothing compared to the opportunity to share in the profits of the firm.

Part of the problem is timing. In a flat ecomony, where firms aren't growing, new partners don't get made up. Why grow the partnership if business is flat, or even in decline?

So senior associates get stuck, unable to move up the ladder. Hence the burnout. Honestly, it's enough to make anyone want to leave the law altogether. Luckily enough, if that's what you're thinking, we have just the thing for you....

---Alex