WHY, AND HOW, LAW FIRMS ARE OFFERING CHOICES OTHER THAN PARTNERSHIP.
© theispot.com/ Daniel Bejar
pensate, motivate and develop their alternative track lawyers. We have much to gain
from the efforts of firms who have “boldly
gone where few firms have gone before.” If
your firm is thinking about embarking on
a course that could reshape your nonpartner complement, develop a road map for
why and how you intend to get there.
Reasons and goals. The first step in
planning for alternative track positions is
to identify all of the reasons you are con-
sidering creating them. Once you have
done that, you are in a better position to
identify all of your goals for this endeavor.
Do you have specialized practices that
cannot support a partner practice but are
nonetheless important practices to maintain at the firm, whether it be in support
or independent areas?
• Associate retention. Are your high-performing associates pressuring you
to create an alternative track that does
not lead to partnership and/or does
not come with all the demands of the
