At the Tipping Point

The debate over the issue of whether or not a law firm can have a mandatory retirement age has focused on the threshold question of whether the 'partner' is an 'employer' or an 'employee' under the ADEA. If the partner is a 'bona fide' partner then he or she is an 'employer' and not protected by the ADEA. However, if the partner is not a 'bona fide' partner under the relevant legal principles (which will be discussed later in this article), he or she may be protected by the ADEA and, therefore, able to challenge the mandatory retirement age policy.

62 minute read October 31, 2006 at 09:06 AM
By
Gary Phelan And Cara E. Greene
At the Tipping Point

When he took over as the new President of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) in June, 2006, Mark H. Alcott identified as one of the three themes of his presidency 'an end to age discrimination in our profession, including the archaic practice of mandatory retirement.'

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