Associate

What is an associate?

In law firms and in several other types of companies like accounting firms, the company structure depends upon having a number of partners and a number of associates. This is a different model than companies that are organized by manager, supervisor and then employee, although many organizations based on the associate and partner model may also have some supervisors, especially of assist-staff employees like secretaries. There can also be levels of associate and partner jobs. People may be senior or junior associates, or junior, senior or managing partners.

Essentially, you can view the associate as an employee of the partners. He or she is paid a salary or wage, and may be offered the opportunity to become a partner at a future point in time. The ability to “make partner” is based on job performance, hours billed, time on the job and other factors. Associates in profitable companies tend to make much less money than partners, since their salary is pre-determined, though they may get bonuses for superior performance.