Every year, law firms put enormous effort into their Partner promotion rounds. Panels are organised, business plans drafted, presentations rehearsed, and an entire ecosystem of candidates, sponsors and firm leaders fixes on a single high-stakes moment: the assessment.
Yet the results are stubbornly inconsistent. Seemingly strong candidates stumble, and even those who clear the panel often arrive at partnership underprepared for what the role really demands. Having spent years working alongside Partner candidates in some of the UK's most ambitious firms, we have a front-row view of where it goes wrong, and it goes wrong far earlier, and far later, than the assessment everyone is so fixated on.
Even where firms clearly state what they want, the gap between those expectations and what candidates have been developed to demonstrate is wide. Most firms say they want the complete package: someone who can win and retain clients, lead a team, think strategically and embody the firm’s values. But the reality is usually far narrower – above all, firms expect a credible financial story: how candidates will win new work, grow relationships and contribute to revenue. Yes, leadership qualities, alignment with the firm’s values and a strong ability to think strategically are essential, but in practice, far more weight is given to the numbers than anything else.
Candidates, on the other hand, also have a narrow view of what is needed, unfortunately just not the same as the firm’s. They still think like a Senior Associate, focused on their technical record, reputation and hours, rather than ‘looking up and out’, being curious about clients and competitors and clear about what they will contribute to growth. Many have had little exposure to client development. They have delivered excellent work but have not led a pitch, managed a client relationship strategically or built a business development plan, and then must do all of it under scrutiny in the final months of assessment. Thinking like a Partner and a 'business owner' is not always developed early enough – and firms are not clear on just how vital this is. It is the most common failure point we see, almost always fixable with time and support.
Nowhere is this clearer than in cross-selling. Asked to rank the most important attributes of a Partner, candidates put cross-selling last; revenue generation and values came first. Firms, meanwhile, name cross-selling and collaboration among the most critical differentiators at Partner level. So, candidates are not developing the skill firms most want to see, and the gap quietly widens.
If we use the analogy of a first-time parent … much focus for both parents is on the birth, the birth plan, the hospital bag etc. In the UK there are entire National Childbirth Trust (NCT) programmes built around this momentous moment, but as any seasoned parent will tell you, the birth will be what it will be – the real focus for any expectant parent should be on the 18+ years of parenting that will follow – this is where the work is and the birth is just a moment in time. Taking this back to a Partner in a law firm, the candidate, their line manager, sponsor and the general firm-wide noise in the run-up to partnership is laser-focused on the hurdle that is the panel assessment. Far less attention and preparation are given to the real 'why' of being a Partner and what life is really like when you get the official badge and how you will really make that first-year £1m target a reality. No matter how much a candidate thinks they are prepared for this change, they rarely are. This can result in a stumbling start to partnership, with time, energy and effort wasted. New Partners are often exhausted by the end of year one.
Firms may assume candidates accept the opacity. The data suggests otherwise. One candidate from a Big Four firm put it plainly: “Finding out how to become a Partner is like walking into a room filled with smoke and mirrors.” Candidates want a sponsor to advocate for them, honest conversations about where they stand, and time to build their case (and know what a case looks like) before the assessment begins. Too often they get silence until the process is already underway.
Our research with more than 80 Partner candidates across legal, accounting and consulting firms found that 85% wanted their firm to be more open about the selection process* and how to manage it. And when candidates do not get that clarity, two thirds said they would look elsewhere to fulfil their ambition*. That is not a pipeline problem but a retention crisis hiding in plain sight, one that structured support and transparency can directly address.
Who a candidate gets as a sponsor to guide them through the process and advocate for them is a lottery. An ideal sponsor is well-respected by fellow Partners, understands the process (including what is not said openly) and stays with their candidate, formally, long after they become Partner. Most sponsors hand back the baton as soon as a candidate makes it through the assessment process. Candidates we work with report feeling very much alone at sea in the first few weeks as all the support they had feels as though it has dropped off.
The shift we see when coaching and training come early, not in the final month before a panel, is significant. Candidates develop a leader mindset, build networks, invest in visibility and think about what they will bring to partnership that no one else can. Many arrive convinced they have nothing to say about innovation, firm strategy or cross-practice work; within a session or two they connect their experience to those themes compellingly.
That is not spin but clarity. Our research showed 66% of candidates said coaching, for business plan development, interview technique and mindset, was what they most wanted from their firm* ahead of partnership. Most were not getting it.
Our view, from across the many professional services firms we work with, is that firms with an outstanding new crop of Partners have three factors in place:
In your firm, what is the gap between the partnership your promotion process describes and the partnership your candidates have been prepared for?
For most firms, that gap is wide, and it is widest exactly where no one is looking: in the years before the panel, and in the year after it. Close it, and the inconsistent results stop being a mystery.
*Note: Research findings are drawn from a cross-professional services population of over 80 respondents, via our joint webinar with Wilkinson Partners.
The Tall Wall works with law firms and other professional services organisations to design Partner candidate development and coaching programmes, from one-to-one coaching to impact-under-pressure workshops and ‘path to partnership’ support. If you’d like to talk through what this could look like in your firm, get in touch at hello@thetallwall.com or find out more at www.thetallwall.com.