Biglaw firms with single partnership tiers are now few and far between, with more big-name firms showing that they’re ready, willing, and able to welcome nonequity partners to their ranks.
Cravath was one of the first longtime holdouts to cut bait and create a “salaried partner tier” (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 new two-tier partnership plan in March 2024; WilmerHale, which added a nonequity partnership tier in August 2024; Cleary, which announced its own new partnership platform in October 2024; Skadden, which began considering a nonequity level in February 2025; Schulte Roth & Zabel, which announced an income partnership tier in March 2025; and Ropes & Gray, which began weighing the benefits of a nonequity tier in early June.
Now, we’re seeing reports that Debevoise & Plimpton, the #33 firm in the country by gross revenue, has decided to create its own nonequity partner tier, while at the same time retaining lockstep compensation across the firm. The American Lawyer has the scoop:
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After close to a year of deliberations and discussions, the partnership voted in the spring “overwhelmingly” to reinforce its current lockstep model, firm presiding partner Peter Furci said in an interview, while at the same time creating a nonequity tier the firm believes will help in talent acquisition and retention. …
“In addition to approving the non-equity partnership, as part of that firmwide discussion, the partnership voted overwhelmingly to ratify our lockstep equity model and recommit to the team approach our clients appreciate so much,” Furci said. “We may be [one of] the last lockstep firms, but just because we are last doesn’t mean we are wrong. Clients see the benefits.”
The firm’s new nonequity partnership tier goes into effect on July 1, at the same time as its partner promotions — and the new partnership class has some nonequity partners, to boot.
Furci went on to say that the new tier will be a “relatively small percentage of the overall partnership” and that it will be reserved for “attorneys who have shown excellence in their legal acumen and also show potential for further development.”
Debevoise — which brought in $5,336,000 in profit per equity partner in 2024 — was one of the last firms in the Am Law 100 to retain an all-equity partnership. As previously noted by Bloomberg Law, the largest law firms in America could soon have more nonequity partners than equity partners by the end of 2025.
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Best of luck to Debevoise & Plimpton as it moved ahead with its “narrowly tailored” nonequity partnership program.
Is your firm planning to increase its nonequity partnership ranks? Please please text us (646-820-8477) or email us and let us know. Thanks.
Locked In: Debevoise Votes to Keep Lockstep Comp but Creates Nonequity Tier [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.