{"id":122454,"date":"2025-06-09T09:02:39","date_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/09\/top-50-biglaw-firm-announces-nonequity-partnership-tier-mainstains-lockstep-compensation\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T09:02:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-09T17:02:39","slug":"top-50-biglaw-firm-announces-nonequity-partnership-tier-mainstains-lockstep-compensation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/06\/09\/top-50-biglaw-firm-announces-nonequity-partnership-tier-mainstains-lockstep-compensation\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 50 Biglaw Firm Announces Nonequity Partnership Tier, Mainstains Lockstep Compensation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Biglaw firms with single partnership tiers are now few and far between, with more big-name firms showing that they\u2019re ready, willing, and able to welcome nonequity partners to their ranks.<\/p>\n

Cravath was one of the first longtime holdouts to cut bait and create a\u00a0\u201csalaried partner tier\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(i.e., nonequity partners) back in November 2023. That move gave other highly ranked firms permission to tread the same path, including Paul Weiss, which announced its\u00a0new two-tier partnership plan<\/a>\u00a0in March 2024; WilmerHale, which\u00a0added a nonequity partnership tier<\/a>\u00a0in August 2024; Cleary, which announced its own\u00a0new partnership platform<\/a>\u00a0in October 2024; Skadden, which began considering a\u00a0nonequity level<\/a>\u00a0in February 2025; Schulte Roth & Zabel, which announced an income partnership tier<\/a> in March 2025; and Ropes & Gray, which began weighing the benefits of a nonequity tier<\/a> in early June.<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019re seeing reports that Debevoise & Plimpton, the #33 firm in the country by gross revenue, has decided to create its own nonequity partner tier, while at the same time retaining lockstep compensation across the firm. The American Lawyer<\/a> has the scoop:<\/p>\n

\n

After close to a year of deliberations and discussions, the partnership voted in the spring \u201coverwhelmingly\u201d to reinforce its current lockstep model, firm presiding partner Peter Furci said in an interview, while at the same time creating a nonequity tier the firm believes will help in talent acquisition and retention. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to approving the non-equity partnership, as part of that firmwide discussion, the partnership voted overwhelmingly to ratify our lockstep equity model and recommit to the team approach our clients appreciate so much,\u201d Furci said. \u201cWe may be [one of] the last lockstep firms, but just because we are last doesn\u2019t mean we are wrong. Clients see the benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The firm\u2019s new nonequity partnership tier goes into effect on July 1, at the same time as its partner promotions \u2014 and the new partnership class has some nonequity partners, to boot.<\/p>\n

Furci went on to say that the new tier will be a \u201crelatively small percentage of the overall partnership\u201d and that it will be reserved for \u201cattorneys who have shown excellence in their legal acumen and also show potential for further development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debevoise \u2014 which brought in $5,336,000 in profit per equity partner in 2024 \u2014 was one of the last firms in the Am Law 100 to retain an all-equity partnership. As previously noted by\u00a0Bloomberg Law<\/a>, the largest law firms in America could soon have more nonequity partners than equity partners by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

Best of luck to Debevoise & Plimpton as it moved ahead with its \u201cnarrowly tailored\u201d nonequity partnership program.<\/p>\n

Is your firm planning to increase its nonequity partnership ranks? Please please text us (646-820-8477) or\u00a0email us<\/a>\u00a0and let us know. Thanks.<\/p>\n

Locked In: Debevoise Votes to Keep Lockstep Comp but Creates Nonequity Tier<\/a> [American Lawyer]<\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Top 50 Biglaw Firm Announces Nonequity Partnership Tier, Mainstains Lockstep Compensation<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n

Biglaw firms with single partnership tiers are now few and far between, with more big-name firms showing that they\u2019re ready, willing, and able to welcome nonequity partners to their ranks.<\/p>\n

Cravath was one of the first longtime holdouts to cut bait and create a\u00a0\u201csalaried partner tier\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(i.e., nonequity partners) back in November 2023. That move gave other highly ranked firms permission to tread the same path, including Paul Weiss, which announced its\u00a0new two-tier partnership plan<\/a>\u00a0in March 2024; WilmerHale, which\u00a0added a nonequity partnership tier<\/a>\u00a0in August 2024; Cleary, which announced its own\u00a0new partnership platform<\/a>\u00a0in October 2024; Skadden, which began considering a\u00a0nonequity level<\/a>\u00a0in February 2025; Schulte Roth & Zabel, which announced an income partnership tier<\/a> in March 2025; and Ropes & Gray, which began weighing the benefits of a nonequity tier<\/a> in early June.<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019re seeing reports that Debevoise & Plimpton, the #33 firm in the country by gross revenue, has decided to create its own nonequity partner tier, while at the same time retaining lockstep compensation across the firm. The American Lawyer<\/a> has the scoop:<\/p>\n

\n

After close to a year of deliberations and discussions, the partnership voted in the spring \u201coverwhelmingly\u201d to reinforce its current lockstep model, firm presiding partner Peter Furci said in an interview, while at the same time creating a nonequity tier the firm believes will help in talent acquisition and retention. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to approving the non-equity partnership, as part of that firmwide discussion, the partnership voted overwhelmingly to ratify our lockstep equity model and recommit to the team approach our clients appreciate so much,\u201d Furci said. \u201cWe may be [one of] the last lockstep firms, but just because we are last doesn\u2019t mean we are wrong. Clients see the benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The firm\u2019s new nonequity partnership tier goes into effect on July 1, at the same time as its partner promotions \u2014 and the new partnership class has some nonequity partners, to boot.<\/p>\n

Furci went on to say that the new tier will be a \u201crelatively small percentage of the overall partnership\u201d and that it will be reserved for \u201cattorneys who have shown excellence in their legal acumen and also show potential for further development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Debevoise \u2014 which brought in $5,336,000 in profit per equity partner in 2024 \u2014 was one of the last firms in the Am Law 100 to retain an all-equity partnership. As previously noted by\u00a0Bloomberg Law<\/a>, the largest law firms in America could soon have more nonequity partners than equity partners by the end of 2025.<\/p>\n

Best of luck to Debevoise & Plimpton as it moved ahead with its \u201cnarrowly tailored\u201d nonequity partnership program.<\/p>\n

Is your firm planning to increase its nonequity partnership ranks? Please please text us (646-820-8477) or\u00a0email us<\/a>\u00a0and let us know. Thanks.<\/p>\n

Locked In: Debevoise Votes to Keep Lockstep Comp but Creates Nonequity Tier<\/a> [American Lawyer]<\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Biglaw firms with single partnership tiers are now few and far between, with more big-name firms showing that they\u2019re ready, willing, and able to welcome nonequity partners to their ranks. Cravath was one of the first longtime holdouts to cut bait and create a\u00a0\u201csalaried partner tier\u201d\u00a0(i.e., nonequity partners) back in November 2023. That move gave […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":122443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Staci-Zaretsky-wc1ux7.jpeg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}