Dreier, Stein & Kahan has a simple capital structure: Marc Dreier owns the firm. All the others, including big-book litigators who surely fit the mold of "partner," negotiate three year compensation contracts. After salaries and expenses are paid, Dreier keeps the rest. Unfortunately, the story is subscription required. Anyone aware of other firms like that? Any thoughts about how well it would work or not? Some brief quotes from the article:
The latest player to emerge on the L.A. legal scene is a rare kind of partnership, if you can call it that at all: It has just one equity partner. . . . . Everyone — except Dreier — negotiates a fixed contract every three years. They can get more income based on business they work on or generate.