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Linking Partner Pay to Strategic Firm Objectives

By J. Mark Santiago
April 01, 2020

Pay for performance is not a new concept in this country. The ideas and concepts underlying a graduated pay scale based on contribution and merit are deeply ingrained in our society and date back at least to Adam Smith and the Scottish Renaissance. And despite some recent, spectacular aberrations at the top of some of America's largest corporations pay for performance in the corporate setting has served this country well.

However, in general law firms have been slower to adopt pay for performance systems. There were many reasons for this. First and foremost, the law was thought of as "A Profession" not a job and partner compensation reflected not only the work that one did but a return on invested capital and the number of years an individual had been at the firm. It was not unusual for old law firm lock step pay systems to increase compensation as a partner aged (and presumably had additional financial responsibilities brought on by a family) peak in the mid-fifties and then decline (as the financial obligations of colleges and marriages decreased) through the partners later years.

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