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Partner Pay Spread Increases for Top Law Firms Amid Partnership Model Changes

By Andrew Maloney
June 01, 2024

Amid unprecedented billing rate hikes and an escalation of the battle for rainmaking talent, Am Law 100 law firms again raised the stakes on partner pay last year, increasing the average distance between their highest- and lowest-paid equity partners, according to ALM survey data on pay ratios.

At the same time, the average spread among Second Hundred firms fell a bit, as that segment arguably focused on building leverage and increasing lawyer head count last year.

The Am Law 100 upped its average equity partner pay spread from 9.8-to-1 in 2022 to 10.3-to-1 in 2023, according to a sample of firms' data. Meanwhile, the average gap for Second Hundred firms dimmed from 9.5-to-1 to 9.2-to-1, and the Am Law 200 overall saw a slight uptick in the average comp ratio, from 9.6-to-1 to 9.7-to-1.

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