LATER YEARS
Becoming an associate
After four years or so, you’ll probably be looking at the next rung on the Eversheds’ promotion ladder: associateship. You’ll need to meet a variety of criteria set out in our competency framework. These include your technical skills (legal knowledge) and experience; the relationships you have developed with clients; the results you’ve achieved; the relationships you’ve built with colleagues across the firm; and your ability to promote your team / firm with confidence.
Partnership
The jump to partnership follows. It’s worth stopping for a moment to stress that, when we recruit trainees, we are in every case looking for future partners. It’s not a numbers game; it’s all about seeing the partner potential and investing in it. You’ll need to demonstrate a very real credibility in the market, excellent interpersonal skills and a passion to move the business on.
An alternative route
Of course, partnership isn’t for everyone and not everyone will make it. There are people who have very fulfilling and challenging careers at Eversheds without becoming a partner.
We’ve pioneered the role of Senior Associate for lawyers for whom partnership is not the be-all and end-all, and to act as a staging post on the route to partnership.
This is not a compromise, however. It is a genuinely accepted and wholly respected career path at Eversheds, which won’t affect the quality of the work we expect or the clients you deal with.
For those who choose to pursue the partnership goal, they can use their time in as a Senior Associate to prepare for partnership. They will go through an in-depth Development Centre to identify strengths and weaknesses so that weak points can be addressed in good time for partner interviews some 18 months later.