Am Law 200 Partner Pay Hits Record $1.55 Million in 2025

By Amara Osei

Major, Lindsey & Africa’s 2026 Partner Compensation Survey found that average compensation for partners at Am Law 200 firms reached nearly $1.55 million in 2025, a record high and a 10% increase over 2024.

The agency, rather than a court, supplied the finding: a market record with a less exuberant middle. Median reported compensation stood at $825,000 in 2025, up 3% from 2024.

Major, Lindsey & Africa said: “As has consistently been the case in our reports, the faster growth in average compensation than median compensation indicates that gains were concentrated toward the upper end of the distribution.”

Translation: the average partner earned almost twice what the median partner earned. The aggregate advance was not a uniform rise.

Takeaway: Pay growth ran strongest among the highest earners.

What drove differences in partner pay?

The survey identified two principal forces behind differences in partner compensation:

• Client originations accounted for 62% of the differences in compensation.
• Billing rates accounted for 33% of compensation variation.

That ranking places origination credit ahead of rate-setting. It also frames the market’s pricing shift: average client originations reached $3.8 million in 2025, 10% above 2024.

The average reported billing rate rose 11%, from $1,114 in 2024 to $1,242 in 2025. More compensation, fewer billable hours and higher prices occupied the same report. The billable-effort theory, for its part, has company.

Equity partners reported an average billing rate of $1,359, 24% above the $1,070 reported by nonequity partners. For the first time in the survey’s history, the nonequity average crossed $1,000.

Takeaway: Origination credit and billing rates explained most of the compensation differences measured by the survey.

Did partners bill more or less?

The 2025 hours data cuts against a simple volume explanation:

• Average reported billable hours fell 4% to 1,656.
• Equity and nonequity partners reported nearly identical average billable hours.
• The nonequity median reached 1,700 hours, compared with 1,600 for equity partners.

Major, Lindsey & Africa said: “This may reflect greater time devoted to business development, firm leadership, practice management or other nonbillable responsibilities.” The agency added: “Viewed alongside the survey’s compensation and originations findings, the data reinforces the notion that partner compensation is influenced by more than billable effort alone.”

The time sheet therefore does not capture the entire compensation bargain. Some work may build the client base or support the firm without appearing as a billable hour.

Takeaway: Recorded hours alone did not determine partner compensation.

How large was the gender pay gap?

Men reported average compensation of $1.68 million in 2025, while women reported $1.1 million.

The agency said the size of the gap shifted when researchers considered compensation-system transparency and partner status. The raw comparison is large; the agency’s qualification is more complicated, since the same average can change when the mix of partners and pay arrangements changes.

The figures nonetheless establish the size of the reported raw disparity. Equal average figures would require something the survey did not find: parity between $1.68 million and $1.1 million.

Takeaway: The reported gender gap was substantial, although transparency and equity status affected its measured size.

How much data sits behind the figures?

Major, Lindsey & Africa based the 2026 survey on 1,016 responses from partners at Am Law 200 firms. The results therefore describe the responding group rather than every partner at every firm on the list.

The survey covered a substantial market segment, but it remains a survey rather than a complete census. The distinction matters when a single average becomes the headline. As this report demonstrates, averages have a habit of finding company.

Takeaway: The findings reflect 1,016 partner responses, not a census of all Am Law 200 partners.

What should practitioners take from this?

For partners weighing pay or a lateral move, the survey suggests that origination credit, billing rate, equity status and nonbillable leadership belong in compensation talks; 1,656 billable hours alone do not explain pay. For firms, a 10% average increase beside a 3% median increase makes headline pay a poor guide to the median partner. Recruiters should test both levers. The agency prescribes no formula.

Takeaway: More hours did not mean more money, a result that leaves the billable-hours table little room to argue.