Definition:
- A part-time practitioner who practices law in association with a firm, but on a basis different from that of the mainstream lawyers in the firm. Such part-time practitioners are sometimes lawyers who have decided to change from a full-time practice, either with that firm or with another, to a part-time one, or sometimes lawyers who have changed careers entirely, as for example former judges or government officials.
- A retired partner of the firm who, although not actively practicing law, nonetheless remains associated with the firm and available for occasional consultation.
- A lawyer who is, in effect, a probationary partner-to-be: usually a lawyer brought into the firm laterally with the expectation of becoming partner after a relatively short period of time.
- A permanent status in between those of partner and associate, having the quality of tenure, or something close to it, and lacking that of an expectation of likely promotion to full partner status.
Source: Formal Opinion 90-357 of the American Bar Association
Examples:
Members of the "Silent Generation" in the legal workplace are largely aging partners, managers, senior support staff and “of counsel” to law firms.
