What your practice is worth on the Am Law market.
You have a book, and Am Law firms compete hard for practices like yours. We give you a clear read on what yours commands, which platforms fit it, and how much of it is likely to travel. Every conversation stays quiet, and nothing reaches a firm until you say it can.
- Total discretion. Your firm and your clients never hear from us.
- A clear read on what your practice commands at Am Law firms right now.
- Portability worked through client by client, so your numbers hold up in diligence.
- No cost to you at any stage. The hiring firm pays, never the candidate.
Am Law firms compete hardest for partners who arrive with a practice, because originations and client relationships are the one thing a firm cannot build quickly. That competition shows up in the economics of an offer and in how much a firm will construct around you, from associate depth to partners who can cross-sell your work. Firms differ most on how they value a particular practice, and that rarely tracks the rankings. We represent attorneys at the country's leading national firms and run active searches with Am Law 100 and 200 firms, including firms with more than 1,000 attorneys, so the read you get comes from live conversations instead of a table.
Every partner move comes down to one question: how much of your business follows you. Am Law firms answer it with a lateral partner questionnaire and a diligence process that runs deeper than most partners expect, covering originations by year, billings, realization, and the relationships you control. We work through your book with you client by client before any of that begins, so the numbers you put on paper hold up when a committee tests them. Rate pressure belongs in that conversation too, since a higher-rate platform is an easy sell to some clients and a real problem for others. Once a firm is serious, most of our searches close in about five to six weeks.
How a lateral partner move runs
Each step happens on your timeline and stays between us until you decide otherwise. Here is what we work through with you.
What your practice is worth
A read on the compensation, origination credit, and support an Am Law firm should offer for a practice like yours, measured against what comparable platforms are doing now. We also walk through the shape of a typical package, including the guarantee period at the front, how draw works through the year, and where credit gets shared, so nothing in the offer arrives as a surprise.
Portability, read client by client
We go through your book one relationship at a time, separating the clients who are yours from the ones tied to your current platform, and we factor in rates, conflicts, and who else at your firm touches the work. The number you present should be one you can defend, because the firm will test it. Market-wide, a portable book is a stated requirement in only a small share of the partner-level searches we run. It still drives what a firm will pay you.
The LPQ, conflicts, and diligence
The lateral partner questionnaire asks for originations by year, billings and collections, realization, and your client list. We work through it with you before it goes in and tell you what the committee will press on next. Conflicts get mapped against target firms early, so a promising conversation doesn't stall in clearance weeks later.
Platform fit
Practice depth alongside yours, partners with reason to cross-sell your work, and the geographic reach your clients need. A firm that already serves your industry in the cities that matter to your clients will grow your practice. One that doesn't will ask you to carry it by yourself, at higher rates.
Real recruiters who know the legal market.
You work with one person who specializes in your practice and keeps your search confidential.
How is this different from your page for partners at regional and mid-size firms?
Our partners page at /for-attorneys/partners covers the wider market, where the right platform is often a strong regional or mid-size firm. This page is for partners at or moving into Am Law and national firms who are weighing another Am Law seat, where diligence is heavier and the platform questions are different. If you're open to both, start with either one. We'll show you the whole market either way.
What does the lateral partner questionnaire ask for?
Expect several years of originations, billings, collections, and realization, plus your client list, your rates, and an account of which relationships you control. Firms use it to price your practice and to run conflicts, so accuracy matters more than optimism. We work through the draft with you and flag the answers a committee will want more detail on.
How do you handle conflicts?
We map your client list against the likely conflicts at each target firm before you invest time in a conversation. That way a firm with a structural problem in your industry comes off the list early rather than after four weeks of meetings. Where a conflict is workable, we get it in front of the firm's clearance process at the start.
How are Am Law partner offers usually structured?
In broad strokes, an offer sets a compensation target with a guarantee period at the front, a draw paid through the year, and origination credit rules that decide what your book earns you going forward. Firms differ widely on how credit is shared and how fast they expect your practice to ramp. We'll walk you through the specific terms on the table and how they compare with what similar practices are being offered, before you respond.
Is it confidential, and does it cost me anything?
Your name reaches no firm without your explicit approval, and early conversations happen without identifying you. Your current firm and your clients never hear from us. There is no cost to you at any stage, because the hiring firm pays our fee, never the candidate.