In Wednesday’s live session, Jaap Bosman, the founder of TGO Consulting, a strategic advisory firm that works with leading law firms worldwide on governance, leadership, and business strategy. A former law firm partner and executive committee member, he has spent more than a decade advising top-tier firms across Europe, North America, Latin America, and Asia. Bosman is also the author of several books on law firm management, including Law Firm Partner Compensation. Throughout the session, he drew on his international experience to explain why compensation is one of the most important strategic issues facing law firms today, particularly as AI reshapes the delivery of legal services.
Session Overview
Partner compensation has always been one of the most sensitive topics in law firm management, but Bosman argued that it has become increasingly critical as firms respond to AI, changing client expectations and evolving business models. While debates about fairness and profit sharing are nothing new, today’s firms must also consider succession planning, partner accountability, and long-term competitiveness. Drawing on examples from firms around the world, he explained that compensation should not simply reward past performance but encourage the behaviours and capabilities firms will need in the future.
The discussion explored the three most common partner compensation models, lockstep, modified lockstep, and “eat what you kill,” highlighting the advantages and limitations of each. Bosman challenged the widely held belief that compensation systems alone create collaboration, arguing instead that culture is the real driver of knowledge sharing, client development and cross-selling. He also discussed the growing challenge of generational transition, noting that many firms are balancing the expectations of long-serving partners with the need to develop a new generation equipped to lead in a rapidly changing legal market.
Looking ahead, Bosman suggested that AI will fundamentally change how law firms define partner value. As technology automates more routine legal work, success will depend less on billable hours and more on judgement, commercial awareness and leadership. He shared research identifying seven characteristics consistently found among Tier 1 lawyers recognised by Chambers: understanding clients’ businesses, creativity, practice development, project management, emotional intelligence, confidence and integrity. He also argued that firms will increasingly need to reward specialist AI and technology professionals through partner-equivalent incentives, such as shadow equity, to attract and retain the talent needed to remain competitive. Rather than seeing AI as simply another technology investment, Bosman encouraged firms to rethink what high performance looks like and to ensure their compensation systems support the behaviours that will define successful partnerships over the next decade.
Key Takeaways
- Partner compensation is now a strategic issue that directly influences firm performance, talent retention, and long-term competitiveness.
- Culture, not compensation models alone, is the key driver of collaboration, cross-selling, and client sharing.
- AI is shifting partner value away from billable hours towards commercial understanding, leadership and judgement.
- Bosman’s research identified seven characteristics shared by the highest-performing partners: business understanding, creativity, practice development, project management, emotional intelligence, confidence, and integrity.
- Law firms must carefully manage generational transition while preparing partners for new expectations and ways of working.
- Attracting top AI and technology talent will require innovative reward structures alongside traditional partnership models.
- Firms that redefine partner success today will be better positioned to thrive in an AI-driven legal market.
Further Reading
📖 Law Firm Partner Compensation by Jaap Bosman & Jaime Fernández Madero
https://www.lawfirmpartnercompensation.com/
