Good news for senior associates in emerging markets: there are now more partners than ever being made up in Asia. If you are an aspiring associate in Asia or Australia you stand a much greater chance of making partner at a UK firm now than five years ago. According to data collected by LB, this year the UK’s top 25 firms made up 48 partners in Asia, compared to just 26 in 2008.
In context, that figure is even more startling as the total number of partners promoted globally by those 25 firms has fallen significantly since 2008 (see graph, ‘Where in the world? Location of partners promoted’). The number of lawyers made up to partner has dropped by 14% from a high of 447 in 2008 to 384 new partners overall this year. But compared to last year, partner promotion numbers are up, with 36 more associates making the grade this year compared to 2011.
But Asia has managed to buck the trend. Back in 2008 just 5% of new partners at the UK’s top 25 firms were made up in Asia, now this percentage is three times higher, with 15% of new partners made up in the region.
The increase in the number of partner promotions in Asia has been matched by a proportional fall in the number of partners made up in the UK. This year the number of partners made up in the UK hit a five-year low, with just one third of new partners at the UK’s top 25 firms being UK-based. Compare that to 2007 when over half of new partners were made up in the UK.
Allen & Overy (A&O) was one of the biggest promoters in Asia this year, making up a bumper crop of 11 of its 33 new partners in the region. The Magic Circle firm promoted in its Hong Kong, Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney offices. According to last year’s LB100, 69 of A&O’s 398 partners were based in Asia, so this year’s promotions will swell those ranks considerably.
‘These global promotions reflect the cross-border nature of our work and the strength of our international network, the largest of any of the elite law firms,’ said A&O managing partner Wim Dejonghe.
The increase in partner promotions in Asia is part of a wider trend for firms to bulk up in profitable Asia-Pacific economies. Since 2007 the number of lawyers working for LB100 firms in the region has doubled, from 1,604 lawyers in 2007 up to 3,344 lawyers in 2011. Alongside generous pay deals, one sure-fire way to keep hold of rare and highly sought after local talent is by dangling the prospect of partnership to aspiring lawyers.
The growth in the number of partner promotions in the region is also attributable to several Anglo-Australian mergers going live in the past few years, including DLA Piper’s combination with DLA Phillips Fox, and Norton Rose’s merger with Deacons, which went live in 2010.
Norton Rose made up 36 partners globally this year compared to just 15 last year, following mergers in Australia, Canada and South Africa. ‘The international spread and number of promotions is a reflection of our significant international expansion,’ said Peter Martyr, group chief executive of Norton Rose. ‘We are particularly pleased to see promotions in Africa, Canada and Latin America for the first time this year.’
Other firms have also seen major increases in partner promotions compared to last year. Bird & Bird made up 12 partners, compared to just two in 2011. While Clyde & Co also made up more partners than last year following its merger with Barlow Lyde & Gilbert in 2011, with 14 partners making the grade compared to nine in 2011.
‘The promotions, which fully reflect all regions within the firm, are a testament to our international development programme,’ said Clyde & Co chief executive Peter Hasson.
There remains a huge disparity between men and women when it comes to partnership. Of the 384 new partners admitted to the top 25 firms, only 113 – one third (29%) – are women. This comes at a time when women now make up around 61% of the law firm trainees in England and Wales. However, 29% represents an increase on previous years, with women making up between 20% and 25% of new partners over the past five years.
Slaughter and May and Irwin Mitchell were the worst performers for gender balance of the top 25 firms this year: making no new female partners. By contrast Berwin Leighton Paisner, Addleshaw Goddard, Norton Rose and Eversheds were the top performers, where women make up more than 40% of their current batch of partners.