Young partners in law firms face growth crisis

YOUNG, SALARIED PARTNERS in legal firms are facing a growth crisis as they are struggling to pull their weight in the absence of their own clients or “books”.

- JYOTSNA BHATNAGAR

A book, in legal parlance, refers toa“book of business”, meaning the financial and client records of a lawyer ora law firm.

The profitability per partneris significantly low,making it hard for them to either get promoted to “equity partners” or find new jobs elsewhere.

Says Akanksha Antil, vice president for law firm and fund recruitment at Vahura, “Several law firms are looking to hire people who already have a book. In top tier firms there’s a glut at the salaried/execution level.” Firms now want partners to generate business, lead client relationships and help with strategy and business."If you want equity eventually,builda visible book,” she says.

A young salaried partner with a top law firm acknowledges the pressure of generating enough business.

Anand Desai, managing partner of DSK Legal, however, terms it asss an undue brouhaha. “The bottomline of havinga bookis building a reputation of doing valuable work and contributing to the client. Client loyalty results from this. Unfortunately, it is often misunderstood as marketing,” he opines. In law firms, partnerships are the ultimate career goal. And an equity partnership, where you own a slice of the firm, is the proverbial unicorn in the legal land.The positions are difficult to come by, not just because of the steep climb to the top but also because once lawyers get there, they find themselves jostling for space with the existing partners.