Partnership Agreements for Law Firms

Part One: Tackling the Current Issues in Partnership Agreements Chapter 1: Partnerships, LLPs and limited companies.1 Chapter 2: Alternative Business Structures - Outside participation in legal firms.5 Chapter 3: Attracting new partners - LLPs and partnership.11 Chapter 4: How is the partnership managed?.13 Chapter 5: Salaried and junior equity partners.17 Chapter 6: Discrimination in partnerships.19 Resolving the issues in the partnership agreement.21 Chapter 7: Profit sharing.25 The equality system.25 Profit share by capital contribution.26 Seniority (lockstep).26 Merit or performance systems.27 Hybrid profit-sharing systems.29 Variables in merit-based systems.30 Capital-based hybrid systems.31 Retirement annuities.32 Retaining profits.32 Chapter 8: Different categories of partner and new partners.35 Chapter 9: Additional benefits and provision.39 The kinds of benefits.40 Flexible working arrangements.41 Contents I V Chapter 10: Supervision and disciplinary provisions.43 Partners' obligations.45 Compliance with regulatory obligations.46 Disciplinary measures.47 Performance measurement.47 Chapter 11: De-equitisation.49 Provisions for expulsion from the partnership.50 Chapter 12: Expulsion, retirement and dissolution.53 Expulsion.53 Suspension.55 Challenges to expulsion.56 Retirement.57 Accounting.58 Distribution of shares.59 Anti-embarrassment clauses.60 Restriction of competition.60 Indemnities.61 Dissolution.62 Chapter 13: Good faith, arbitration and mediation.65 The duty of good faith.66 Preventing litigation.68 Indemnity and compensation.69 Arbitration.70 Mediation.71 Part Two: Case studies Preface to Case Studies.75 Case study 1: A defective business plan.77 Case study 2: Failure to draft for change.79 Case study 3: Failure to implement partnership clauses.81 Case study 4: Failure to notify insurers of claims and circumstances.85 Appendix 1: A deed of partnership.87 Index.111