Become A Partner

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Working As A Partner

Getting Information
Making Decisions and Solving Problems
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization

Mostly Sitting
Make Decisions
Stressful
$318,274
Average Salary

What Does A Partner Do

A Partner is responsible for supporting, creating, and implementing business strategies to enhance the position and integrity of an organization or business. They ensure that performance goals are met and set.

How To Become A Partner

All lawyers must have a law degree and must also typically pass a state’s written bar examination.

Education

Becoming a lawyer usually takes 7 years of full-time study after high school—4 years of undergraduate study, followed by 3 years of law school. Most states and jurisdictions require lawyers to complete a juris doctor (J.D.) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA). ABA accreditation signifies that the law school—particularly its curricula and faculty—meets certain standards.

A bachelor’s degree is required for entry into most law schools, and courses in English, public speaking, government, history, economics, and mathematics are useful.

Almost all law schools, particularly those approved by the ABA, require applicants to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). This test measures applicants’ aptitude for the study of law.

A J.D. degree program includes courses such as constitutional law, contracts, property law, civil procedure, and legal writing. Law students may choose specialized courses in areas such as tax, labor, and corporate law.

Licenses

Prospective lawyers take licensing exams called "bar exams." When a lawyer receives their license to practice law, they are "admitted to the bar."

To practice law in any state, a person must be admitted to the state’s bar under rules established by the jurisdiction’s highest court. The requirements vary by individual states and jurisdictions. For more details on individual state and jurisdiction requirements, visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Most states require that applicants graduate from an ABA-accredited law school, pass one or more written bar exams, and be found by an admitting board to have the character to represent and advise others. Prior felony convictions, academic misconduct, or a history of substance abuse are just some factors that may disqualify an applicant from being admitted to the bar.

Lawyers who want to practice in more than one state often must take the bar exam in each state.

After graduation, lawyers must keep informed about legal developments that affect their practices. Almost all states require lawyers to participate in continuing legal education either every year or every 3 years.

Many law schools and state and local bar associations provide continuing legal education courses that help lawyers stay current with recent developments. Courses vary by state and generally cover a subject within the practice of law, such as legal ethics, taxes and tax fraud, and healthcare. Some states allow lawyers to take their continuing education credits through online courses.

Advancement

Newly hired attorneys usually start as associates and work with more experienced lawyers. After several years, some lawyers may be admitted to partnership of their firm, which means they become partial owners of the firm.

After gaining a few years of work experience, some lawyers go into practice for themselves or move to the legal department of a large corporation. Very few in-house attorneys are hired directly out of law school.

A small number of experienced lawyers are nominated or elected to judgeships. Other lawyers may become full-time law school faculty and administrators. For more information about judges and law school faculty, see the profile on judges and hearing officers and the profile on postsecondary teachers.

Other Experience

Law students often gain practical experience by participating in school-sponsored legal clinics, in a school’s moot court competitions, in practice trials under the supervision of experienced lawyers and judges, and through research and writing on legal issues for a school’s law journals.

Part-time jobs or summer internships in law firms, government agencies, and corporate legal departments also provide valuable experience. Some smaller firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations may hire students as summer associate interns after they have completed their first year at law school. Many larger firms’ summer internship programs are only eligible to law students who have completed their second year. These experiences can help law students decide what kind of legal work they want to focus on in their careers, and these internships may lead directly to a job after graduation.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Lawyers help their clients resolve problems and issues. As a result, they must be able to analyze large amounts of information, determine relevant facts, and propose viable solutions.

Interpersonal skills. Lawyers must win the respect and confidence of their clients by building a trusting relationship, so that clients feel comfortable enough to share personal information related to their case.

Problem-solving skills. Lawyers must separate their emotions and prejudice from their clients’ problems and objectively evaluate the matter. Therefore, good problem-solving skills are important for lawyers, to prepare the best defense and recommendation.

Research skills. Preparing legal advice or representation for a client commonly requires substantial research. All lawyers need to be able to find what applicable laws and regulations apply to a specific matter.

Speaking skills. Clients hire lawyers to speak on their behalf. Lawyers must be able to clearly present and explain their case to arbitrators, mediators, opposing parties, judges, or juries.

Writing skills. Lawyers need to be precise and specific when preparing documents, such as wills, trusts, and powers of attorney.

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Partner jobs

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Partner Career Paths

Partner

Senior Counselor Case Manager

Account Manager

5 Yearsyrs

Managing Director Chief Operating Officer

Chief Executive Officer

8 Yearsyrs

Business Development Manager Senior Manager

Chief Information Officer

11 Yearsyrs

Managing Partner Operations Director

Chief Operating Officer

11 Yearsyrs

Business Developer Business Development Manager

Director Of Sales

10 Yearsyrs

Business Manager Property Manager

District Manager

7 Yearsyrs

Registered Nurse Unit Manager

General Manager

7 Yearsyrs

Business Manager Human Resources Assistant

Human Resources Business Partner

10 Yearsyrs

Adjunct Professor Senior Project Manager

Managing Director

11 Yearsyrs

Managing Director Chief Executive Officer

Managing Partner

9 Yearsyrs

Senior Counselor Program Director

Marketing Director

7 Yearsyrs

Business Development Manager Marketing Consultant

Marketing Manager

6 Yearsyrs

Business Analyst Marketing Manager

National Account Manager

8 Yearsyrs

Chief Operating Officer Managing Partner

Operations Director

9 Yearsyrs

Registered Nurse Case Manager

Operations Manager

7 Yearsyrs

Senior Project Manager Chief Operating Officer

President & Chief Operating Officer

13 Yearsyrs

Business Developer Chief Executive Officer

President/Chief Executive Officer

10 Yearsyrs

Chief Operating Officer Management Consultant

Senior Project Manager

12 Yearsyrs

Senior Project Manager President Of Operations

Senior Vice President-Operations

13 Yearsyrs

Business Analyst Assistant Vice President

Vice President And Manager

10 Yearsyrs

Average Length of Employment

President/Owner 7.8 years
Co-Owner/Partner 5.7 years
Associate Partner 5.1 years
Managing Partner 5.0 years
Executive Vice President 5.0 years
Founder And Managing Partner 5.0 years
Founding Partner 4.8 years
Senior Partner 4.7 years
Partner Operations Manager 4.6 years
Operating Partner 4.6 years
Managing Member 4.0 years
Partner 4.0 years
Manager/Partner 3.9 years
Partner-Director 3.8 years
Chief Operating Officer 3.8 years
Business Partner 3.6 years
Senior Executive 3.6 years
Senior Associate 3.2 years
Executive 2.9 years
Client Partner 2.6 years

Top Careers Before Partner

Top Careers After Partner

Partner Demographics

Gender

Male
59.4%
Female
37.7%
Unknown
2.9%

Ethnicity

White
78.7%
Hispanic or Latino
10.0%
Asian
8.8%
Unknown
2.0%
Black or African American
0.6%

Languages Spoken

Spanish
44.0%
French
13.6%
Mandarin
5.9%
German
5.2%
Chinese
4.9%
Portuguese
3.9%
Japanese
3.4%
Russian
3.3%
Italian
2.8%
Arabic
2.5%
Cantonese
1.9%
Hindi
1.6%
Carrier
1.4%
Korean
1.3%
Urdu
1.0%
Greek
0.8%
Thai
0.7%
Vietnamese
0.6%
Filipino
0.6%
Tagalog
0.6%

Partner

Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.

Partner Education

Schools

University of Phoenix
11.8%
New York University
6.0%
Temple University
5.9%
University of Texas at Austin
5.5%
Michigan State University
5.4%
Georgetown University
5.3%
Syracuse University
4.7%
Arizona State University
4.6%
George Washington University
4.5%
University of Florida
4.5%
University of Houston
4.4%
DePaul University
4.4%
University of Southern California
4.4%
Boston University
4.3%
Florida State University
4.3%
University of Connecticut
4.2%
Northeastern University
4.1%
Harvard University
4.0%
Columbia University
3.9%
University of Miami
3.8%

Majors

Degrees

Bachelors
37.5%
Masters
20.2%
Other
18.1%
Doctorate
14.2%
Associate
5.7%
Certificate
3.1%
Diploma
0.9%
License
0.3%

Partner

Unfortunately we don’t have enough data for this section.

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Real Partner Salaries

Job Title	Company	Location	Start Date	Salary
Partner	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Us LLP	New York, NY	Oct 31, 2016	$1,000,000
Partner	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Us LLP	New York, NY	Feb 01, 2015	$1,000,000
Partner (Attorney)	Sidley Austin (Us) LLP	Washington, DC	Sep 01, 2014	$725,000
Partner (Attorney)	Sidley Austin (Us) LLP	Washington, DC	Sep 15, 2014	$725,000
Partner	Kobre & Kim LLP	New York, NY	Jul 26, 2016	$701,232
Partner	Kobre & Kim LLP	New York, NY	Jul 26, 2013	$701,232
Partner	White & Case LLP	New York, NY	Aug 23, 2015	$700,000
Partner	Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Us LLP	New York, NY	Jul 11, 2013	$700,000
Partner	White & Case LLP	New York, NY	Jul 27, 2015	$700,000
Partner of Counsel	White & Case LLP	New York, NY	Sep 19, 2015	$550,000
Partner of Counsel	White & Case LLP	New York, NY	Sep 30, 2015	$550,000
Partner of Counsel	White & Case LLP	New York, NY	Mar 20, 2015	$550,000
Partner of Counsel	White & Case LLP	New York, NY	Mar 31, 2015	$550,000
Partner, Healthcare Transformation	IBM Corporation	Austin, TX	Sep 15, 2015	$315,000
Partner	Oliver Wyman, Inc.	New York, NY	May 09, 2016	$309,000
Global Head Partnerships Group	Invention Development Management Company	Bellevue, WA	Aug 29, 2016	$307,845
Partner	Entrust Capital Management LP	New York, NY	Oct 01, 2014	$300,000
Partner (Foreign Legal Consultant	Sidley Austin (Us) LLP	New York, NY	Jul 30, 2015	$300,000 - $1,500,000
Partner-Non-Share	Kirkland & Ellis LLP	San Francisco, CA	Jan 09, 2016	$300,000
Partner	Simon-Kucher & Partners Strategy & Marketing Consu	New York, NY	Jan 01, 2015	$290,000
Partner, International Arbitration Practice	Mayer Brown LLP	Houston, TX	Sep 02, 2015	$280,000 - $475,000
Partner	Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP	New York, NY	Nov 04, 2016	$210,704
Consumer Partner	Ah Capital Management, LLC	Menlo Park, CA	Jul 17, 2014	$206,000 - $230,000
Partner	Hall & Partners USA LLC	Seattle, WA	Oct 01, 2015	$205,000
Partner	Hall & Partners USA LLC	Seattle, WA	Feb 03, 2015	$205,000
Partner	Hall & Partners USA LLC	New York, NY	Feb 03, 2015	$205,000
Partner	Hall and Partners USA LLC	Seattle, WA	Jul 15, 2016	$205,000
Partner In Charge of Governance, Risk & Compliance	Friedman LLP	New York, NY	Apr 14, 2013	$204,818 - $400,000
Partner	Global Consultancy House, LLC	New York, NY	Dec 17, 2014	$204,090

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Top Skills for A Partner

Top Partner Skills

Financial Services
Products Liability
Customer Service

You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:

Managed a law practice focused on business consulting and financial services
Maintained primary responsibility for defense of firm s high exposure products liability and commercial litigation through trial.
Provide local and international ongoing support and customer service, ensuring products arrived on time and accurate distribution.
Negotiated, drafted and reviewed contracts for corporate clients including real estate transactions, sales leases, concessions.
Partner and head of digital for a brand strategy and design company.