City-headquartered law firm RPC has announced it is introducing a number of new senior level roles for lawyers to reflect the changing expectations of its people, the market, and client demand. 

Lots of listening

The updated structure – to be introduced with immediate effect – will see RPC move from being an all-equity partnership to offering its lawyers five options for senior legal careers at the firm: full equity partner, fixed share equity partner, salaried partner, of counsel, and senior associate. Commenting on the new partnership structure, RPC managing partner James Miller said “This is an exciting development for RPC and an important step forward for our people, our clients and our business. Our people are our core asset - they are the cornerstone of us building lasting client relationships.” Mr Miller added, “We've spent a lot of time listening; listening to people's expectations and considerations when it comes to their career progression; and listening to what's happening in the wider market. We've taken on board what we've heard and created a career structure that is right for our people and right for our clients, now and into the future.” The firm is made up of 76 all equity partners with around 700 people in total, and headquartered in London with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Bristol. RPC is a member of TerraLex, the worldwide network of independent law firms.

A fierce battle

Mr Miller explained, “Like every business we evolve, and the market around us evolves, too. Our all-equity structure has served us very well, but we know that the bar to achieving partnership here has been seen as very high. High standards are a good thing, of course, and that won't change, but we saw the need to offer our people alternative career destinations with titles that reflect their seniority and value – value to clients and value to the business. These new roles give people a credible and recognisable alternative to full equity partnership, if that’s the route they wish to take.” He added, “We still expect and encourage people to aspire to full equity partnership, and while you don't necessarily have to work through all the career levels to achieve that, it is more likely that people will first enter the partnership either at salaried or fixed-share level while they build their business case.” Concluding his remarks, Mr Miller said “The battle for talent is fierce. This new structure will help us to retain our best people, attract new talent, and deliver better outcomes for our clients.”