5 tips for advocates on how to negotiate with partners regarding money, roles and responsibilities

A partnership in advocacy requires not only shared values but also clear agreements regarding roles, finances, clients, and responsibilities. The UNBA NextGen webinar held in Volyn region addressed how to establish a professional partnership from the outset.

The speakers at the event were the chairman of the UNBA NextGen Igor Andreyev as well as advocates Dmytro Bakulin and Serhiy Ivaniv. Drawing on their own experience, they discussed five practical issues that advocates should consider when establishing or developing a partnership within a law firm.

1. Do not form a partnership just to «get ahead» at someone else’s expense.

Before forming a partnership from scratch, an advocate should assess their own professional and financial self-sufficiency. A partnership should not be a way to achieve success at someone else’s expense or to compensate for a lack of one’s own client base.

If an advocate does not yet have sufficient experience, client trust, or a clear understanding of their own practice, it is wiser to first work as part of a team, develop their skills, build a reputation, and only then move toward an equal partnership.

2. Agree on money and shared expenses.

One of the key issues at the outset is the revenue-sharing model. An automatic «50-50 split» agreement can become a source of conflict if one partner brings in more clients, handles a larger volume of work, or effectively manages a separate practice area.

Therefore, it is important to determine early on which expenses are shared, who is responsible for the client, how fees are distributed in a specific case, and what each partner receives their share for.

3. Pay attention to «red flags».

When choosing a partner, it is important not only to consider professional competence but also to assess personal qualities. Among the warning signs, participants in the discussion cited dishonesty, greed, excessive self-centeredness, and a reluctance to work toward a shared goal.

Such traits may not manifest immediately, but they are often the root cause of conflicts regarding clients, fees, team roles, and public disputes following the dissolution of the partnership.

4. Do not rely solely on a written agreement if there is no trust or clear model of interaction.

The issue of partnership agreements was discussed separately. The speakers noted that a contract alone does not compensate for mistakes in choosing a partner if there is no trust, honesty, or a clear model of interaction between the parties.

At the same time, it is important for a law firm to discuss fundamental issues right from the start: who makes management decisions, how shared expenses are covered, how partners exit the project, and what happens to clients, the team, and reputational assets.

5. Build public visibility on real competence.

An advocate’s media presence can be a tool for professional development and strengthening the law firm, but only if it is grounded in real competence. Public activity on social media helps build client trust and market recognition, but it cannot replace the quality of legal assistance. If an advocate’s public image is not backed by the substance of their work, media presence becomes not an advantage but a reputational risk.

A client cannot always assess an advocate’s competence during the very first consultation. However, they can pay attention to the logic of explanations, the consistency of public positions, the alignment of stated experience with actual professional practice, and the availability of evidence of professional work in open sources.

For the advocate themselves, this means that their image should not be merely decorative, but rather grounded in real expertise, quality communication, and a clear professional positioning.

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