Mayer Brown

MBRM has lost over 70 equity partners in the past 12 months, including many of its highest-paid partners. Not the sign of a firm on the up. Not a bad place to work in the very junior ranks (although in some groups you can forget about a life during the week), but promotion to partner is tricky. The finance group has made 3 hires recently at the partner level and all 3 have been senior associates.... from other firms. The message clearly is that the best way to make partner at MB is to get passed over first at another firm.

Anon -23 Aug 2007 | 16:46

The corporate group isn't very busy. All of the group's major clients (EMI, ICI, Easynet, Reuters, etc.) have all been bought out recently. Worse still, they didn't use MBRM on the takeovers...

Insider -28 Aug 2007 | 19:20

Another two partners resigned this week...

Anon -30 Aug 2007 | 18:41

I think Anon is wrong - the corporate group is busy.

anonII -06 Sep 2007 | 17:57

Even those lucky enough to make partner (the salaried kind) complain that the role doesn't result in financial rewards. Even equity partners get drains on their hard-earned cash (like capital calls) which mean they end up taking home not much more as a partner than as an employee.

Anon III -07 Sep 2007 | 12:37

The article 'Mayer Brown future up for grabs as competing visions vie for dominance' hardly scratches the surface and is not entirely accurate. Maher did sit down with small groups of partners (at dinner) last year and made it very clear he would leave if he wasn't made co-chair. Although he does not have the title of chairman, he is clearly running the firm and this is pretty much the accepted position within the firm. That's not to say everyone agrees with it and lots of partners have left this year either because they were asked to or because they don't want the current management or don't agree with the direction the firm is heading in. It is a very salutary lesson that it's easier to change the culture of the firm for the worse (by making it seem like a money-hungry, cut-throat institution) than it is to improve it.

MB LLP insider -07 Sep 2007 | 13:37

Two very high profile partners have just agreed to join the corporate group (one from another Chicago firm and the other from S&S). Query why they're joining (money, desperately need a pension, can't wait to get out of their existing firm...), but at least it shows the firm can hire top notch (or middling, depending on your view) partners from other top notch (or middling....) firms.

anonIV -07 Sep 2007 | 17:52

And another partners two gone this week (from Chicago). That makes two hires and two departures for a net of zero. Not a bad week considering all of the departures recently...

Paul -14 Sep 2007 | 18:12

Some of the comments here need updating. The firm has lost well over 90 partners now, but they have hired 7 partners and made up 43 this year. However, even this has sparked considerable controversy as many of the new and recently made up partners describe themselves as "glorified senior associates" due to low pay and lack of involvement in firm management. Getting made up to partner appears to be a bit easier than one comment above suggests, but the question is - what type of partnership are you getting?

Updater -08 Nov 2007 | 10:52

Recruitment consultants constantly sell this place as "US pay for UK hours". Does anybody fall for that?

Associate, Mid-tier -30 May 2008 | 15:21

Rumours about utilisation levels at Mayer Brown London may be true, with the banking practice stalled and corporate still not making any serious headway against the real players in the City. Meanwhile leverage looks all wrong. The management team has been in place too long and radical change is needed to freshen the place up and move the giant forward as Maher and his pals would like.

Past Fan -29 Jul 2008 | 17:58