The matter of fairness in law firm compensation is a fraught one. Issues of transparency, partner origination, the gender wage gap, and lockstep vs. merit-based systems can all feed a firm’s anxiety when it comes to determining who gets how much. Add to this mix the issue of associate origination. How should firms compensate associates (or any nonpartner employees) who bring in business? The short answer is, most large firms don’t.
Typically, when associates bring in clients, the origination credit is passed on to a partner, with the associate receiving little more than a “Well done” from the partners—and sometimes they don’t even get that. There is also no guarantee that associates who land clients for the firm will be rewarded with an extra bonus at the end of the year. There are few large firms with mechanisms in place to assign associates origination or billing credit. How smart—or shortsighted—a strategy that is depends on your perspective.
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