{"id":145846,"date":"2026-03-12T15:20:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/12\/top-biglaw-firm-debuts-nonequity-partnership-tier-moving-goalposts-just-a-bit-further\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:20:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T23:20:32","slug":"top-biglaw-firm-debuts-nonequity-partnership-tier-moving-goalposts-just-a-bit-further","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/03\/12\/top-biglaw-firm-debuts-nonequity-partnership-tier-moving-goalposts-just-a-bit-further\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Biglaw Firm Debuts Nonequity Partnership Tier, Moving Goalposts Just A Bit Further"},"content":{"rendered":"

Another day, another Biglaw firm tinkering with the partnership model. Yet another firm is joining the growing ranks experimenting with a nonequity partner tier, offering lawyers the prestige of partnership title without the full financial buy-in (or payoff) that traditionally comes with it. As more firms rethink compensation structures, retention strategies, and the path to equity, the expansion of nonequity partnership continues to signal a broader shift in how Biglaw defines partnership in the first place.<\/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; Arnold & Porter, which quietly announced its income partner<\/a> role in December 2025; Sullivan & Cromwell, which rolled out its\u00a0nonequity program<\/a>\u00a0in January 2026; Freshfields, which introduced its\u00a0nonequity tier<\/a>\u00a0in February 2026.<\/p>\n

Sources tell Above the Law that yesterday afternoon, Sidley \u2014 the No. 6 firm on the 2025 Am Law 100 \u2014 notified all lawyers about its new income partner tier. Here\u2019s an excerpt from that firmwide email:<\/p>\n

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

Change in Biglaw rarely arrives without a little grumbling, and the rollout of a new nonequity partnership tier is no exception. Associates who once envisioned a more straightforward path to equity are now grappling with the reality of an extra rung on the ladder. \u201cAssociates and counsel who are up this year got no prior warning that a nonequity tier was even on the table and are furious,\u201d a source told ATL.<\/p>\n

Still, as firms continue to normalize these structures across the industry, lawyers may ultimately have little choice but to get used to the new status quo, where the title of \u201cpartner\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean what it used to.<\/p>\n

Best of luck to Sidley as it moves forward with its income 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

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\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 Biglaw Firm Debuts Nonequity Partnership Tier, Moving Goalposts Just A Bit Further<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another day, another Biglaw firm tinkering with the partnership model. Yet another firm is joining the growing ranks experimenting with a nonequity partner tier, offering lawyers the prestige of partnership title without the full financial buy-in (or payoff) that traditionally comes with it. As more firms rethink compensation structures, retention strategies, and the path to equity, the expansion of nonequity partnership continues to signal a broader shift in how Biglaw defines partnership in the first place.<\/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; Arnold & Porter, which quietly announced its income partner<\/a> role in December 2025; Sullivan & Cromwell, which rolled out its\u00a0nonequity program<\/a>\u00a0in January 2026; Freshfields, which introduced its\u00a0nonequity tier<\/a>\u00a0in February 2026.<\/p>\n

Sources tell Above the Law that yesterday afternoon, Sidley \u2014 the No. 6 firm on the 2025 Am Law 100 \u2014 notified all lawyers about its new income partner tier. Here\u2019s an excerpt from that firmwide email:<\/p>\n

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

Change in Biglaw rarely arrives without a little grumbling, and the rollout of a new nonequity partnership tier is no exception. Associates who once envisioned a more straightforward path to equity are now grappling with the reality of an extra rung on the ladder. \u201cAssociates and counsel who are up this year got no prior warning that a nonequity tier was even on the table and are furious,\u201d a source told ATL.<\/p>\n

Still, as firms continue to normalize these structures across the industry, lawyers may ultimately have little choice but to get used to the new status quo, where the title of \u201cpartner\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean what it used to.<\/p>\n

Best of luck to Sidley as it moves forward with its income 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

\n
\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\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 Biglaw Firm Debuts Nonequity Partnership Tier, Moving Goalposts Just A Bit Further<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another day, another Biglaw firm tinkering with the partnership model. Yet another firm is joining the growing ranks experimenting with a nonequity partner tier, offering lawyers the prestige of partnership title without the full financial buy-in (or payoff) that traditionally comes with it. As more firms rethink compensation structures, retention strategies, and the path to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":145847,"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-145846","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\/03\/Staci-Zaretsky-VZnIz2.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145846","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=145846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}