We\u2019re now seeing reports that Freshfields, the #13 firm in the world by gross revenue, has decided to create its own nonequity partner tier, while at the same time \u201cstretching\u201d lockstep compensation across the firm. The\u00a0American Lawyer<\/a> has the scoop: <\/p>\n Freshfields has introduced a nonequity partnership tier as a means to encourage profitability, following months of speculation. \u2026<\/p>\n In addition to the nonequity tier, two sources familiar with Freshfields said that the firm is also stretching its lockstep to enable higher rewards for higher earners at the upper end of the pay scale.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Introducing a nonequity tier once felt like a seismic identity shift for firms rooted in tradition, but now it\u2019s starting to look almost inevitable \u2014 especially for firms that want to compete at the very top of the U.S. market without letting equity ranks (and profits per equity partner) spiral. And while the nonequity layer may be new at Freshfields, compensation tinkering is not: the firm moved away from a pure lockstep around 2017 amid notable partner departures, and this latest change reads like a continuation of that strategy: protect profitability and make sure the rainmakers feel properly rewarded.<\/p>\n For senior associates dreaming of partnership, the message across Biglaw is increasingly clear: the brass ring is still there, but there might be an extra rung on the ladder before you can grab it..<\/p>\n Best of luck to Freshfields as it forges ahead with its nonequity partnership program.<\/p>\n Is your firm planning to increase its nonequity partnership ranks? Please please text us (646-820-8477<\/a>) or\u00a0email us<\/a>\u00a0and let us know. Thanks.<\/p>\n Freshfields Ushers in Nonequity Partner Tier<\/a> [American Lawyer]<\/p>\n Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her 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 Global Biglaw Firm Announces Nonequity Partnership Tier, Expands Lockstep Compensation<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another elite firm has decided that one tier of partnership simply isn\u2019t enough \u2014 and neither is the pure lockstep salary model.<\/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\u00a0income partnership tier<\/a>\u00a0in March 2025 (prior to its\u00a0merger with McDermott<\/a>); Debevoise, which created its\u00a0nonequity partnership track<\/a>\u00a0in June 2025; and Sullivan & Cromwell, which rolled out its nonequity program<\/a> in January 2026.<\/p>\n We\u2019re now seeing reports that Freshfields, the #13 firm in the world by gross revenue, has decided to create its own nonequity partner tier, while at the same time \u201cstretching\u201d lockstep compensation across the firm. The\u00a0American Lawyer<\/a> has the scoop: <\/p>\n Freshfields has introduced a nonequity partnership tier as a means to encourage profitability, following months of speculation. \u2026<\/p>\n In addition to the nonequity tier, two sources familiar with Freshfields said that the firm is also stretching its lockstep to enable higher rewards for higher earners at the upper end of the pay scale.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Introducing a nonequity tier once felt like a seismic identity shift for firms rooted in tradition, but now it\u2019s starting to look almost inevitable \u2014 especially for firms that want to compete at the very top of the U.S. market without letting equity ranks (and profits per equity partner) spiral. And while the nonequity layer may be new at Freshfields, compensation tinkering is not: the firm moved away from a pure lockstep around 2017 amid notable partner departures, and this latest change reads like a continuation of that strategy: protect profitability and make sure the rainmakers feel properly rewarded.<\/p>\n For senior associates dreaming of partnership, the message across Biglaw is increasingly clear: the brass ring is still there, but there might be an extra rung on the ladder before you can grab it..<\/p>\n Best of luck to Freshfields as it forges ahead with its nonequity partnership program.<\/p>\n Is your firm planning to increase its nonequity partnership ranks? Please please text us (646-820-8477<\/a>) or\u00a0email us<\/a>\u00a0and let us know. Thanks.<\/p>\n Freshfields Ushers in Nonequity Partner Tier<\/a> [American Lawyer]<\/p>\n Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to\u00a0email<\/a>\u00a0her 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":" Another elite firm has decided that one tier of partnership simply isn\u2019t enough \u2014 and neither is the pure lockstep salary model. 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 other highly ranked firms permission to tread the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":144579,"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-144578","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\/2026\/02\/Staci-Zaretsky-AF2ea0.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144578","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=144578"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144578\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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