Are You Ready To Be A Partner

Developing the Next Generation of Rainmakers Are You Ready to be a Partner? I confess: I find it difficult to write and post anything that is relevant while young lawyers are likely working from home while looking after their kids who are not in school. I sense that the Coronavirus will change client development forever, or at least for the rest of this year. I generally write these blog posts days or weeks in advance of posting. Now, I have to look and see if what I wrote is relevant at this moment in time. I’m considering suspending posting, in part because my thoughts are in a different place. So, stay tuned. When I was in charge of attorney development in my old law firm I was asked, how I knew when an associate was ready to be considered for partner. I answered that when an associate quits thinking like an employee and starts thinking like a partner he or she is ready.   Have you read: The Impact Equation: Are You Making Things Happen or Just Making Noise?Chris Brogan and Julien Smith? In the book the authors write: Owners, for example, search out opportunities, while employees wait for opportunities to come to them. Isn’t that a good criteria to determine whether an associate is ready to be considered to become a partner? Suppose I asked you to finish this post by providing examples of how partners look for opportunities. What would be on your list? I practiced law for 37 years developing a national construction law practice representing some of the top highway and transportation construction contractors in the US.