Does the title “senior associate” mean anything?
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Why do we pay paralegals so little? A senior associate completely miscalculated a statutory deadline, and our lead paralegal caught it at 4:30 PM on the final day, staying late on a Friday to fix the caption and get it over the line. If she hadn't been paying attention, the firm would be facing a massive malpractice suit, yet she makes less than the associate who didn't even know what month it was.
Yea it means you have all the responsibilities and pressure of the first level partners without the title and slightly less money. And then the added benefit of thinking everyone thinks you have something wrong with you for not being partner yet. Hah
At our V25 firm it’s a formal up or out advancement gate at year 5. Most people make it but a fair number don’t.
Not at our firm. More of an informal way to designate an associate's experience level.
We can bill higher rates with some clients.
At my former firm (a well respected regional firm), it is a formal title awarded (or not) 5 years in. With that title, the associate gets certain additional benefits (dependent care coverage, some other minor benefits) and rights and responsibilities (the ability to open and bill files, an annual overview of general firm financial information).
I could not open new files during my first 5 years as an associate I could bring in clients and get credit for those clients, but a senior associate or partner would need to open the file and take on billing responsibility. Once you are a senior associate, you can bring in clients AND open files and bill them independently.
Senior associate, or managing associate, is a standard title in London. Matters will routinely be staffed with a partner and a senior/managing associate, with junior associates then used for grunt work. Over here, therefore, senior associate, or managing associate, is part of the normal progression with seniority.
At my firm, it means you “should” make non-equity partner the next year. So, no it doesn’t mean anything
It means something at my firm. Bonus potential increases greatly and is based on collections rather than hours worked.