Law Firm Partners Bill Fewer Hours, Earn More: Average Pay Reaches High of $1.55 Million, New Survey Finds

Partners who bring in clients far out-earn those who bill the most hours, while partners at firms with transparent pay systems report far higher satisfaction.

Hanover, MD – October 27, 2026 – Law firm partner compensation continued to climb over the past two years, even as average billable hours declined, according to the 2026 Partner Compensation Survey released today by Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA), the world's largest legal search firm. With analytics powered by Resolution Economics LLC, a leading economic consulting firm, the survey is based on responses from 1,016 law firm partners across the United States.

Average partner compensation reached $1.55 million in 2025, up 10% from $1.4 million in 2024, while median compensation rose just 3%, to $825,000, a sign that gains continue to concentrate among top earners. Pricing power appears to have driven the increase more than heavier workloads: average partner billing rates increased 11% to $1,242 per hour, while average billable hours fell about 4%, to 1,656.

“For years, law firm performance was largely measured in hours. Today, it’s increasingly measured in the value firms can command for their expertise,” said Louis Ramos, Partner in MLA's Partner Practice Group and author of the survey. “The fact that partner compensation has continued to rise, even as billable hours fell slightly, signals a noticeable shift in how firms value partner work.”

The survey also looked at how firms reward different kinds of contributions, comparing partners in the top and bottom 30% for client originations and working attorney receipts, a measure of personal production. “Business builders,” defined as partners with large books but lower personal billings, reported average compensation of $1.9 million while billing just 1,166 hours, the fewest of any group. “practice drivers," defined as partners with heavy workloads but smaller books, billed about 700 more hours on average and earned roughly $1.1 million. Partners with large books and heavy workloads reported the highest pay of all, averaging $3.9 million.

"A strong and growing book of business remains the clearest path to the top of the pay scale,” said Kirsten Keegan Vasquez, Global Vice President of MLA's Partner Practice Group. “Partners who carry strong workloads are essential to their firms, but they are paid differently from those who bring in clients. Firms that want to keep both will need to invest in building business development skills across the partnership, in addition to rewarding the people who already have them.”

Client originations remain the strongest predictor of partner compensation, accounting for approximately 62% of the variation in partner compensation. Average partner originations grew about 10% to $3.8 million in 2025, while median originations jumped 40%, to $1.75 million, suggesting that business-generation gains were realized beyond the market’s largest rainmakers.

The compensation gap between equity and non-equity partners also remained substantial. Equity partners reported average compensation of $2.17 million, about 3.6 times the $611,000 reported by non-equity partners. Equity partners also reported average client originations more than four times higher ($5.45 million compared to $1.32 million). This gap also appears in satisfaction: 83% of equity partners were satisfied with their pay, compared to 57% of non-equity partners, a divide that has widened since 2024.

Compensation system transparency was also linked to partner outcomes. Partners at firms with open compensation systems reported average compensation approaching $2 million, compared with $1.16 million in closed systems, and were far more likely to be satisfied with their pay (73% versus 48%).

"The most surprising number in this year’s data may be the gap between business generation and pay,” said Richard Goldberg, Partner at Resolution Economics. “Collectively, partners' books grew much faster than their compensation. This could reflect higher billing rates, more profit per dollar originated, or changes in how firms set compensation, but it’s a gap partners and firms will want to watch.”

Other key survey findings include:

• Corporate partners remain the highest-paid practice group, reporting average compensation exceeding $2.1 million and the highest average billing rates among all major practice areas.
• Higher pay hasn’t made partners happier. Despite growing compensation, overall satisfaction has remained unchanged since 2024 (73% versus 72%).
• Non-equity partner billing rates reached a high of $1,070 per hour, crossing over the $1000 threshold for the first time in survey history.
• The gender pay gap persists. Men reported average compensation of $1.68 million compared with $1.11 million for women, a difference of 41%. Men also reported larger books of business on average, and the analysis suggests that much of the pay gap is intertwined with differences in client originations, billing rates, production, and other economic characteristics captured by the survey.

The 2026 Partner Compensation Survey can be accessed here.

About Resolution Economics LLC

Founded in 1998, Resolution Economics is a trusted leader in economic, statistical, and financial consulting across a broad spectrum of Labor & Employment and Financial Advisory matters. Our expertise spans wage and hour, pay equity, discrimination, reductions in force, independent contractor classification, investigations, artificial intelligence bias, commercial litigation, and survey design and implementation. From nationwide class actions to individualized disputes, regulatory investigations, and proactive advisory projects, we deliver rigorous analysis and practical solutions that help clients navigate today’s most pressing workforce challenges.