Biglaw

Is Biglaw Using Early Partnership To Keep Valuable Associates From Jumping Ship?

Worried about associates leaving? Make 'em partner NOW.

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One of the unexpected reverberations from our pandemic year+ is just how well Biglaw fared. The top of the pack made quite the pretty penny, with a booming corporate market. That means that the lateral attorney market has seen a ton of action, forcing Biglaw firms that want to hold onto their talent to roll out the red carpet. So, suddenly remote-only work is an option (at least for the truly coveted) and those generous mid-year special bonuses sweeping through Biglaw are looking like golden handcuffs meant to keep associates at their firms.

But the lateral market is savvy, countering with staggering — we’ve heard tales of six figures — signing bonuses for associates. So what’s a firm anxious to keep their associates to do? Perhaps an unexpected partnership election is in order.

Cahill, Gordon & Reindel is one of the smaller Biglaw firms — at least by headcount, and their partnership classes are usually no more than a handful of folks. And, like a lot of Biglaw firms, the partnership elections come in the beginning of the year — we’re talking early February or in January, generally speaking. So, imagine everyone’s surprise when the firm announced its second round of partner elections in 2021, these effective July 1, 2021.

And those elevated to partner in this unusual move are C. Anthony Wolfe and Elizabeth Yahl. Two associates that just happen to work in the super hot capital markets practice area. Hmmm, this sure feels like a bid to keep valuable attorneys at the firm rather than risk losing them to the lateral market by waiting until 2022 to elect them to the partnership.

We reached out to the firm about the… noteworthy timing but have yet to hear back.

Congratulations to those elevated.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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