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Tips on making partner? V50, M&A, sort of an industry specialist
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Date: December 31st, 2025 1:53 PM Author: diverse shaky kitty cat stage Didn’t come from money and have no real friends, don’t keep in touch with classmates. White, gentile, handsome, fit but could be fitter, 6 ft tall. Sixth year associate. Very good at my job and well liked by clients and colleagues. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552390) |
Date: December 31st, 2025 1:55 PM Author: startled lemon set (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552391) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 1:56 PM Author: very tactful swashbuckling hospital sound barrier does a mendacious kike partner with a book of business view you as critical to his operation? do you check a minority/window dressing box? If either is yes, congrats. otherwise, eat shit and die |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:05 PM Author: bonkers gas station dopamine This is cr. Unless you are carrying water for the most senior partner with the biggest book, you are unlikely to make partner. Otherwise, he will promote someone that’s not you and you won’t have a spot. You need to make yourself indispensable to that person. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552438) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 1:58 PM Author: Fiercely-loyal lodge being good and well liked is probably enough at a v50 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552406) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 1:59 PM Author: ivory fighting national unless you have a super rare skillset, you are going to have a problem.
i was at baker hostetler for years - lateraled there as a senior associate in 2015 (october, so late in the year), made partner in 2018. i made partner the last year that you could make partner without a substantial book or a very compelling business case. i tried to go back after leaving in 2022 and they rejected me bc i didn't have at least $3m in business.
and this is a vault 60-something, which frankly barely qualifies as biglaw anymore.
at a v50, i'd imagine that the boomers have pulled the ladder up even more.
i am a traditional labor atty. pretty rare skillset, but L&E has been minimized and phased out at most biglaw firms. i have a friend who was at BH as an associate who is now counsel at paul hastings. i don't think he has any real shot at partner. he's a subject matter expert, but i don't think they put much value on labor. a little, enough to keep you around as counsel, but not partner.
your skillset might make the difference, but these days, if you don't have substantial business, biglaw partnership ain't happening. |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:00 PM Author: startled lemon set ITT is about "v50." (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552416) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:01 PM Author: ivory fighting national right, i have lived experience at a firm that's less prestigious than a v50, so i think you can easily conclude that someone w/o a book is even more fucked at a v50, and yet more fucked at a v25, and uber-fucked at a v6. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552421) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:02 PM Author: Fiercely-loyal lodge this isn't true. my v50 promotes a bunch of people with no real book every year. all equity partnership, too (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552422) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:02 PM Author: ivory fighting national out your firm, office, and practice area
fwiw, i know another dood who left BH for morgan lewis. he just left there for "ogletree" (a ttt L&E firm); he was a 13th or 14th year associate at ML and said it was clear he wasn't making partner, but they liked him and wanted to stay.
also told me that a guy in the labor practice got promoted and was told after 2-3 years that unless he was able to make a $5m book materialize, he'd be cut loose.
if your v50 is different, then that's 180. |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:06 PM Author: Fiercely-loyal lodge i'm not outing my firm. if i did, you'd say, "yup, of the v50 firms, that is indeed one of them".
promotions are across lots of offices and practice groups. maybe l&e is just distinctly shitty? |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:17 PM Author: ivory fighting national i was just kidding about outing the firm, do you have autism?
i don't think it's an L&E thing, because everyone in all practice groups at BH are subject to this rule that you need a book to make partner. same at ML and paul hastings based on what i've heard.
if you firm is different, that's great but a bit surprising. |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:21 PM Author: Fiercely-loyal lodge of course i have autism. it's required to make partner with no book at a v50 (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552488) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:02 PM Author: very tactful swashbuckling hospital sound barrier actually CR (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552424) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:05 PM Author: ivory fighting national i'm at a midlaw place now. originated $1.2m in 9 months (i lateraled effective april 1). should originate like $2.5m next yera and make around $800k. will 100% make equity and be making almost $1 million a year soon. rate me. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552433) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:22 PM Author: Sick Fluffy Casino If you're originating $2.5 million the you're getting ripped off if they only give you a million. You're probably billing twice that. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552489) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 3:18 PM Author: ivory fighting national my assumption is a "working atty" number of $1.5m ($600k) and 20% of all originations ($500k), $1.1m. how is this not good?
i know a dood at BH who has a $2m book and he probably makes like $700k there. |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 4:05 PM Author: Sick Fluffy Casino I don't know where's the rest of the money going? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552857) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 4:33 PM Author: ivory fighting national overhead, i guess. we pay associates close to biglaw salary, just to highlight one cost item.
how much of your book do you think you keep at a large firm?
a rule of thumb is 1/3, but it usually winds up being a bit more.
if you want to keep more, you have to be a solo or at a super small firm with almost no overhead. |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 7:11 PM Author: Sick Fluffy Casino Aren't the associates also bringing in three times their cost? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49553232) |
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Date: January 1st, 2026 9:42 AM Author: ivory fighting national no flame, zoomer associates are lazy as shit and always miss their hours. they're still profitable, but it's not like it was 10+ years ago.
the lol firm model is doomed. |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:02 PM Author: bateful sooty people who are hurt Act aloof and definitely don’t GAF about any minutae unless you desire to be counsel (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552428) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:24 PM Author: Spectacular thirsty sanctuary Bring in new clients or become a go-to for a longstanding institutional client and either make yourself indispensable to that relationship or convince them to grow their book with your firm. Nothing else will suffice, if you don’t have objective quantifiable contributions you have zero chance of making partner. At larger firms (maybe yours) the latter is really the only route unless you have a serious Rolodex, which it sounds like you don’t.
In my case my path was to take an existing client that kicked us small deals and grow that business significantly. That one relationship helped me make partner, and none of my technical skills or 2500+ billable hour years would have got me over the hump without that boost.
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Date: December 31st, 2025 2:44 PM Author: Tantric legend (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552592) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 3:21 PM Author: chocolate buck-toothed son of senegal Why on God’s Green Earth would you want to be a partner? Any extra bones they throw you are not in anyway worth the weight of the truckloads of shit they will also dump on you and then stand back and point their fingers and laugh while you struggle to keep it sorted. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552735) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 4:45 PM Author: Fiercely-loyal lodge to get the bag, fam. aren't you always complaining about being broke? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49552951) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 5:31 PM Author: Peach overrated den Is t13 -> tranny biglaw worth it? Asking as a prospective student (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49553039) |
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Date: December 31st, 2025 7:00 PM Author: diverse shaky kitty cat stage Absolutely I make a fuckton of money (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49553201) |
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Date: January 1st, 2026 12:14 PM Author: Fiercely-loyal lodge if you want million$ sure (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49554025) |
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Date: January 4th, 2026 5:35 PM Author: artificial intelligence It’s miserable but you can make bank (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5815825&forum_id=2.#49562196) |