The Year of the Junior Partner

Overview

The Year of the Pig has been a record year for economic activity in Greater China. For senior US lawyers practicing here, it has been the Year of the Junior Partner. Following a drought of partnership invitations in the first half of the decade, at last count over 30 US qualified lawyers have joined the partnership ranks of international law firms in Hong Kong and China in the past 18 months. Who are these new partners? And has attaining the pinnacle of success in private practice increased the professional satisfaction of this group of high flyers?

To find out we interviewed over half of this “Class of ‘07”. For the overwhelming majority, admission to partnership has increased their professional satisfaction. While nearly all attribute their success to excellent technical skills and the consistent nurturing of relationships with colleagues and clients, none downplayed the contribution of the current economic boom to their elevated status. For lawyers who aspire to follow in their footsteps, the message is clear: be the very best lawyer you can be, devote your energies to building internal and external relationships early on in your career, and hope that when it’s your
turn to climb to the next rung on the ladder, favorable economic conditions will carry you to the next level.

This article begins with a snapshot profile of the group. It then sets out the professional “must-haves” to which the group attributes its success. Next, it summarizes the responses of those interviewed to questions about the changes, challenges and rewards that admission to partnership brings. Finally, the article sets out some tips for associates who have set their eyes on the partnership prize.

Class Profile

What does this Class of ’07 look like?* The sweet spot for number of years of practice is between 9 and 10 with over half of the new partners graduating from law school in 1997 or 1998. The oldest member of the class graduated in 1988 and the youngest in 2001. Seventeen percent are women. The class has an average of 5.3 years of practice experience in Asia and 56% are business fluent in one or more Asian languages. Organic growth prevailed over lateral acquisition with 73% of the new partners being made up by firms where they had practiced for an average of 5.4 years. The longest tenure at the same firm before promotion was nine years. A little less than 50% joined as equity partners. In terms of practice specialties, securities lawyers fared well with over half of the class listing capital markets as all or part of their practice. Roughly one third of the new partners cite a mix of M&A and private equity as their focus. Other practice specialties include leveraged finance, real estate and employment.

Professional Attributes

To what professional characteristics do our partners attribute their accomplishment? Top of the line technical skills are paramount in our partners’ view of why they made the grade. However, they were quick to tell us that excellent legal skills are merely a threshold requirement. Other core elements of success cited were hard work, consistent performance and constant cultivation of relationships inside and outside. Some credit the happenstance of being bilingual with boosting their prospects. Others note the importance of working with a firm that has a strategy of growing its partnership. But even a lawyer who has all of the right stuff needs a little bit of luck at partnership time. All recognize the positive influence that practicing in Asia in a robust economic environment has exerted on the business cases for making them up.

Professional Changes

How has elevation to partnership altered the professional lives of our interviewees? Our survey asked them to quantify the degree of change in their professional lives and then to describe the substance of these changes. Although there was a clear division in the degree of change with almost equal groups ranking the change as 3 or 4.5 (on an ascending scale of 1-5), there was a high degree of uniformity with respect to the substance of the changes. Topping the list is more involvement with the business of the firm with new partners shouldering increased responsibility for business development and all aspects of administration. These responsibilities take the form of more hands-on participation in marketing, strategic planning, recruiting and staffing, billing and other administrative tasks. Running a very close second on the change list is the shift in emphasis in client relationships. As one partner summed it up, “managing the client relationship is as important as getting the deal done.” Clients expect more from partners and the focus has shifted from providing service to building a rapport and becoming more involved with the financial aspects of the client’s business.

What hasn’t changed? The partners report virtually no change in the number of hours they work. But there is definite shift in the nature of how those hours are spent. The partners tell us that they spend between 50-80% of their time on execution with the remainder spent on managing client relationships, developing new business, recruiting, billing and other non-billable tasks.

Professional Challenges

But along with the challenges come the rewards. A primary source of gratification for the new partners is the internal and external recognition that comes with the partnership designation. They have attained a goal to which many aspire but relatively few realize, and are therefore deservedly enjoying the respect of peers and clients. A sense of accomplishment in watching the practice grow and freedom to craft a practice style are further sources of satisfaction for the class. As one partner told us, the greatest reward is “when the phone rings and it’s a client with a new deal.” For a few the verdict is still out. More than one new partner candidly admitted that with respect to rewards “it is too soon to tell.” But despite a little uncertainty about the nature of the rewards, the interviewees invariably reported that a significant uplift in professional satisfaction comes with the title. And last but not least there is the monetary reward. Promotion to partnership brings a significant increase in current compensation and for most, promises substantial upside for the future.

Professional Advice

What advice do the partners give to associates who aspire to join the partnership ranks? There is universal agreement that the process starts early and nearly everything an associate does professionally will influence his or her
prospects. Technical skills are fundamental and take time to develop. As one partner advises, “every document has to be camera ready.” Seek to work with the best lawyers at the next level and mimic their style. But being an excellent lawyer is not enough to garner the partnership title. It’s the demonstrated ability to build professional relationships at all levels that separates solid associates from partnership material. Ultimately, it’s all of the partners in the firm who make decisions about who will join their ranks. Thus, aspiring partners should cultivate the broadest internal base of support possible. Remember that partnership votes are global when that hitherto unknown partner from London calls and asks for help. In dealing with peers, become known as the “go-to” guy or girl that other associates seek out when they have questions or need guidance. The client is king and there’s lots of competition out there, so in addition to providing the best service possible treat each client with utmost respect. One partner suggests using “thank you” to begin and end every client correspondence. Having clients ask for an associate by name will add weight to his or her business case when partnership time rolls around. As one partner put it, “make yourself sought after internally and externally.”

Conclusion

The road to partnership is a marathon. An associate may spend years doing all the right things without knowing that it will ever pay off. For most of the respondents the uncertainty lasted until just months before accession became official. And the stress builds as the time gets closer. But in spite of the hurdles and uncertainties, the Class of ’07 kept climbing. The vast majority agrees that the prize was worth the effort.

*This information is based on the statistics of 30 US qualified lawyers who made partner in Greater China in the 18 months preceding this article.

Copyright 2007 KTI Limited

Kathy Togni of Togni & Zhao conducted the survey and authored this report.