Adam Bass Quoted in the American Lawyer “‘Fake Partners’: These Holdout Law Firms Are Sticking With Single-Tier Partnerships”
August, 2024 - Los Angeles, California
By Samson Amore | Mimi Lamarre
July 22, 2024
Appears in: The American Lawyer,Law.com,National Law Journal
"At West Coast-based Buchalter, president and CEO Adam Bass told The American Lawyer he is staunchly against nonequity partnerships, considering those roles to essentially be "fake partners."
Bass questioned how a partner, which by definition implies equity in a firm, could exist without having a financial stake in it, but did note that he is aware that some firms offer this tier as an option for attorneys who might not want to pursue the partner track.
Buchalter operates with a shareholder model, meaning that its top attorneys are also co-owners of the firm, and has for the majority of its existence, Bass said. "We do not have nonequity shareholders; all shareholders can only be equity," he added.
"Buchalter does not have fake partners. The firm is an entrepreneurial organization with a formulaic and performance-based compensation system," Bass said. "All shareholders are treated and valued as owners, [and] Buchalter is a meritocracy where all shareholders have the opportunity to be the best they can be and exceed to the highest levels."
Bass added that Buchalter benefits from this model, as it allows the shareholder partners to act and think like owners of the firm."
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