An
associate attorney is a lawyer and an employee of a traditional law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a partner. Generally, an associate has the goal of being made a partner in the
firm, after a number of years gaining practice experience and being
assigned to increasingly more important and remunerative tasks. At firms
with an "up or out"
policy, associates who are repeatedly passed over for promotion to
partner may be asked to resign. Some firms will also have
"non-partner-track" associates who, though performing satisfactorily as
employees, for whatever reason, will not be promoted to partner.
