Biglaw firms with single partnership tiers are now few and far between, with more big-name firms showing that they’re ready, willing, and able to welcome nonequity partners to their ranks. One top Biglaw firm, however, has decided to stay true to its single-tier partnership model — at least for the time being.
Earlier this summer, we reported that Ropes & Gray, the #7 firm in the country by gross revenue, had been flirting with creating a nonequity partnership tier. This was in the wake of other storied firms welcoming nonequity partners to their ranks in recent years, starting in November 2023 when Cravath created a “salaried partner tier.” That move gave other highly ranked firms permission to tread the same path, including Paul Weiss, which announced its new two-tier partnership plan in March 2024; WilmerHale, which added a nonequity partnership tier in August 2024; Cleary, which announced its own new partnership platform in October 2024; Skadden, which began considering a nonequity level in February 2025; and Schulte Roth & Zabel, which announced an income partnership tier in March 2025.
Ropes now seems to have settled on its single partnership tier. In an interview with the American Lawyer, partner Dan Stanco, a member of the firm’s policy committee, said it would be “premature” to say the firm will be incorporating a nonequity partnership tier. So, for now, the firm will retain its equity partnership scheme, but who’s to say what the future holds.
Ropes — which brought in $4,989,000 in profit per equity partner in 2024 — is one of the last firms in the Am Law 100, to retain an all-equity partnership. As previously noted by Bloomberg Law, the largest law firms in America could soon have more nonequity partners than equity partners by the end of 2025.
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Ropes & Gray Sticking to Single-Tier Partnership For Now, Aiming For Better Collaboration [American Lawyer]
Earlier: Top 10 Biglaw Firm Is Considering Creating A Nonequity Partnership Tier
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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