City law firms put US partner promotions in the spotlight
As law firms increasingly shift their focus to the US there has been a surge in partner promos across the Atlantic – while London is becoming more selective, writes Maria Ward-Brennan.
It’s that time of year when my inbox gets flooded with press releases and Companies House notifications about partner promotions at the City’s finest law firms.
Across City law firms, which are filled with ambitious lawyers, making ‘partner’ is still the holy grail.
Most Big Law and mid-sized firms follow a structured hierarchy, meaning that after qualifying as an NQ, you move onto the associate level, before working towards the senior associate title.
For ambitious lawyers, reaching the top level could lead to promotion in their early to mid 30s.
However, unlike in many businesses where you ultimately work your way up to the top, making partner is much more of a challenge, often characterised by internal politics and a gruelling vetting process.
Firms, especially at the elite end of the City, are looking for standout lawyers with business development (BD) skills who could well be the next ‘rainmakers’ for the firm, in a practice that is deemed important for growth.
However, this year’s numbers are already telling another story.
According to a Morning Wire analysis of the figures, the firms that have their eyes set on global expansion, with the US at the heart, are starting to show a surge of investment into people across the pond.
Magic circle firm Clifford Chance made 31 people partners this year, up by over 10 per cent from the previous year, but its London/UK numbers dropped from 12 in 2025 to 9 this year, while its US numbers increased from 1 in 2025 to 5 this year.
This is the same as its competitor, Freshfields, which made 88 per cent more partners this year than in 2025; despite that, its London figures increased slightly, while its US promos surged. Over 2025, Freshfields made 9 people partners in London/UK, bringing the total to 11 this year. But over the same year, the firm made only 3 partners in the US, compared to 13 this year.
Nick Woolf, partner at Woolf&Co, explained, “There’s a bit of quiet rebalancing going on. US growth is being prioritised, and London promotions are becoming more selective and harder to come by.”
Growth drive across the Pond
There is a reason for this: these firms opted for a different strategy than that of Hogan Lovells, Taylor Wessing, and A&O Shearman who merged into the US market. Instead they need to grow organically in the US with lateral hires.
“I wouldn’t read it as a lack of confidence in London but more that the US is where firms feel they have to win at the moment…Partnership promotions are becoming a reflection of strategy rather than just performance, and right now, strategy for a lot of firms means the US,” Woolf added.
However, while some of these firms used their ‘promo’ rounds as part of their growth strategy, back in London, rounds for lawyers trying to showcase themselves as worthy of the pick are another downside to the declining numbers: the ‘equity’ partner is not for everyone.
Over recent years, law firms have become very tight about who makes it into equity. When firms revealed their promo rounds, they don’t specify who is a equity partner and who is a ‘salaried’ partner.
With millions of pounds on the line when it comes to profit per equity partner (PEP), as firms have become tighter at the top just making partner now requires more work than ever.
Eyes on the Law is a weekly column by Maria Ward-Brennan focused on the legal sector.