How to Secure Career Progression

Career progression. It is an incredibly important factor for lawyers considering whether to remain at their current firm or to find an alternative collaboration. I have previously written on how to know whether you have good prospects within your own team, which you can read here.

Let's assume you have come to the conclusion that you will have better chances at promotion elsewhere. What now?

First, it is imperative you understand the firms on the market that are best suited to deliver this objective. Otherwise, you might end up in a top heavy team or a ‘graveyard’ firm where there is next to no progression at all.

Broadly speaking, your options on the market fall into three categories; 'automatic' prospects, 'reliable' prospects, and 'big fish, smaller pond' prospects.

'Automatic' prospects are firms in which you are promoted automatically once you reach a certain class year. It is as close to a guarantee for promotion as you can get. Freshfields are an example of this at the associate level. Once you reach your 6th year, you will be promoted to Senior Associate. They provide no such certainty when it comes to counselship or partnership, however. Very few do. In terms of international firms, only two US firms operate such a model at the senior level. Of these two, one historically does not engage in lateral hires. As such, this is a limited option!

A second option is to find a firm that, despite not offering automatic promotion, proves its credentials by consistently promoting counsels and partners from within. This is a 'reliable' prospect. A great case study on a reliable prospect would be White & Case. Since 2020, they have promoted 21 partners in Paris. Seven of these were promoted this year alone! That is well ahead of most firms in Paris, and tells us not only that the firm reward their associates, but also that the Paris office is efficient in securing approvals. This last point can be a stumbling block for many firms who might want to promote from within but are stymied by prolonged approvals processes. Moving to a reliable prospects firm is a great way of putting your career trajectory back on a solid path.

Finally, you have 'big fish, smaller pond' prospects. This well-trodden path sees lawyers making the move to smaller sized firms where their expertise in larger or more high-profile deals is greatly valued. Oftentimes, these will be firms with ambitious plans for growth who need experienced team members to put such plans into action. Associates at top firms, will normally have to compromise and accept a reduction of sorts in base salary in order to complete such a move. This is often a dealbreaker for many, but the step down in salary should be seen as a short term investment for medium term gain. After all, your salary will improve sharply on getting to counsel or salaried partner, and exponentially when you attain equity partnership. On average, you will reach these milestones a lot sooner than in the elite firms.

Having a conversation about the market with a headhunter specialized in the Paris legal market can be a very helpful way for you to identify a reliable prospect from a graveyard firm. A good headhunter will have the market knowledge to be able to guide you on the firms in which progression will be most attainable. The best headhunters will also have relationships with those firms and be able to introduce you to them!

If you would like to chat about the market, please do get in contact and we will be happy to help in any way we can!