Biglaw corporations with single partnership tiers are actually few and much between, with extra big-name corporations displaying that they’re prepared, keen, and in a position to welcome nonequity companions to their ranks.
Cravath was one of many first longtime holdouts to chop bait and create a “salaried partner tier” (i.e., nonequity companions) again in November 2023. That transfer gave different extremely ranked corporations permission to tread the identical path, together with Paul Weiss, which introduced its new two-tier partnership plan in March 2024; WilmerHale, which added a nonequity partnership tier in August 2024; Cleary, which introduced its personal new partnership platform in October 2024; Skadden, which started contemplating a nonequity level in February 2025; Schulte Roth & Zabel, which introduced an income partnership tier in March 2025; and Ropes & Grey, which started weighing the benefits of a nonequity tier in early June.
Now, we’re seeing stories that Debevoise & Plimpton, the #33 agency within the nation by gross income, has determined to create its personal nonequity companion tier, whereas on the similar time retaining lockstep compensation throughout the agency. The American Lawyer has the inside track:
After near a 12 months of deliberations and discussions, the partnership voted within the spring “overwhelmingly” to bolster its present lockstep mannequin, agency presiding companion Peter Furci stated in an interview, whereas on the similar time making a nonequity tier the agency believes will assist in expertise acquisition and retention. …
“Along with approving the non-equity partnership, as a part of that firmwide dialogue, the partnership voted overwhelmingly to ratify our lockstep fairness mannequin and recommit to the staff method our purchasers recognize a lot,” Furci stated. “We could also be [one of] the final lockstep corporations, however simply because we’re final doesn’t imply we’re flawed. Purchasers see the advantages.”
The agency’s new nonequity partnership tier goes into impact on July 1, concurrently its companion promotions — and the brand new partnership class has some nonequity companions, as well.
Furci went on to say that the brand new tier will likely be a “comparatively small proportion of the general partnership” and that will probably be reserved for “attorneys who’ve proven excellence of their authorized acumen and likewise present potential for additional improvement.”
Debevoise — which introduced in $5,336,000 in revenue per fairness companion in 2024 — was one of many final corporations within the Am Regulation 100 to retain an all-equity partnership. As beforehand famous by Bloomberg Law, the biggest regulation corporations in America may quickly have extra nonequity companions than fairness companions by the top of 2025.
Better of luck to Debevoise & Plimpton because it moved forward with its “narrowly tailor-made” nonequity partnership program.
Is your agency planning to extend its nonequity partnership ranks? Please please textual content us (646-820-8477) or email us and tell us. Thanks.
Locked In: Debevoise Votes to Keep Lockstep Comp but Creates Nonequity Tier [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Regulation, the place she’s labored since 2011. She’d love to listen to from you, so please be happy to email her with any ideas, questions, feedback, or critiques. You possibly can observe her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or join along with her on LinkedIn.
