Like it or not, today we have to deal with the fact that the market – even the legal one – is made by customers. Customers "demand" efficiency and innovation at lower price levels than they were used to over the past few years. Their need is to cope with heavy budget pressures and, as a result, they can no longer afford the luxury of being tied to a lawyer or a particular firm.
Studies, on the other hand, can no longer rely on constant increases in profitability with which to finance their growth. A fierce competition, also fueled by the many spin-offs we have witnessed recently, characterized in many cases by a more streamlined cost structure, pushes to grab the most interesting tasks or, more trivially, any type of task. In a market characterized by strong competition and low growth rates, the requirements that are required by law firm partners have widened to the point that many law firms are trying to clarify or redefine the obligations of partnerships in the light of changes context conditions. What do you need today to become a salary partner? To become an equity partner? And to remain an equity partner?
Clearly defining what is expected of each partner in order to determine whether they meet certain requirements and expectations or disregard them is critical to the success of each law firm. The realities that do not take into account this important aspect risk, among others, a decrease in competitiveness, disaffection on the part of the best professionals and a creeping dissent that can lead to breakdowns in the partnership that, if not preempted, in some cases have the fatal consequence of the dissolution of the study itself.