Partnership Track at UK Firms: 8.7 Years on Average

Associates at the UK’s top firms are generally taking longer to make partner, according to new research conducted by Legal Week. The figures show that it took 8.7 years on average for lawyers to make partner this year, compared with 8.1 years in 2004. Legal Week says that this is despite the fact that several firms, including Ashurst, Lovells and Herbert Smith, saw a significant drop in the time it took to make partner this year. According to the chart included with the report, Allen & Overy and Slaughter and May have the fastest record for partnership promotions across the top 10 City firms – with associates at both firms taking less than eight years to make partner over the last four years. Slaughters is the fastest, with associates taking just seven years to reach the equity in a clear up or out strategy, with A&O slightly behind at 7.8 years.