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I was a mid-level associate at Wilson Elser and left in late 2020. I was told I had “very strong” partnership prospects, but the equity and non-equity partners always hid the ball from me as to what was considered when an associate is being elevated to partner. I was consistently told to just maintain my high level of work/positive results and billable above 2,000 hours per year.
With that being said, there were a fair number of “Of Counsel” in my group who had significant trial experience. With the exception of one go-to trial attorney, no others were elevated to partner. Reliable associates who had been in the group for 9+ years were eventually elevated to non-equity partners.
While it is very group dependent, I strongly suggest looking elsewhere from Wilson Elser. Especially at your seniority. It’s a great place for junior attorneys to get experience, but terrible for work-life balance. I saw how the senior attorneys/partners worked and I did not want to be like them in 10-15 years — fighting for scraps.
As far the “Associate” vs. “Of Counsel” titles are concerned, I get that “Of Counsel” is really just a different way of saying non-equity partner but there doesn’t seem to be any clear way of distinguishing between the two. I mean…looking at the list of attorneys on their website shows some people with about the same experience as me that are listed as “Of Counsel” and then it also shows some people with more experience still listed as “Associate.” So, is it even possible to lateral to Wilson Elser and go in as “Of Counsel”? I also wanted to see if there a drastic pay increase with “Of Counsel” or any other intangibles that aren’t necessarily advertised, and if there’s a pre-defined pathway to being promoted to Partner.
I’m currently a senior associate with your YOE. The difference between Of Counsel and Associate, is that Of Counsel bills at a higher hourly rate than an associate rate which depends on the practice area. I believe there is a YOE threshold to lateral in as Of Counsel that is non negotiable. The Of Counsel’ attorneys that lateral in I’ve seen have more than 15+ YOE. Also, Of Counsel is like a baby partner, not quite a partner yet. Of counsel is like training wheels until non equity partner, which you’ll need some sort of book of business. Of Counsel’s typically bill on average $40 more an hour than associates.
Curios what are the rates like?