LAWFUEL – The Law Firm Newswire – The National Law Journal reports that Jenner & Block, a litigation-focused firm, is shifting between 15 and 20 of its equity partners to nonequity status this year with some being asked to leave the firm and a smaller number moving voluntarily toward retirement, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The firm’s management last month began to move forward with the plan to cut some of the equity partners during the next year or two, the sources said.
Jenner has never before taken such a step that affected so many equity partners, they said. The firm has 185 equity partners, according to a list of the highest-grossing law firms published last month by The American Lawyer, an NLJ affiliate.
Jenner spokesman Darryl VanDuch declined to comment, saying the firm “doesn’t discuss personnel matters.”
Jenner is the latest Chicago firm to push some of its equity partners out the door and follows similar moves by firms across the country. Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw downsized its partner group in March, saying that it was looking to eliminate 45 equity partners to boost its profit-per-equity-partner ratio. Some recruiters and lawyers say the strategy is likely to become more common amid rising competition.
