Become a Partner

Become a Partner of Olney-Fraser.

“Build your international legal career, become a Partner of Olney-Fraser”

Darren Olney-Fraser, Founder

About

Olney-Fraser is about being part of something bigger than yourself. With our law firm, you can practice law in a friendly, flexible and supportive environment with colleagues who will help you build your international legal career.

Swiss Verein

We are structured as a Swiss Verein, like most international law firms in the modern era.

Swiss Vereins are not-for-profit incorporated associations in Switzerland. They have members, a governance structure and a ‘mission’. International law firms use verein structures to own and manage the brand collateral of the firm from a neutral jurisdiction with strong corporate governance rules. The actual practice of law is undertaken through the Member Firms and other lawyers who are authorised to use the firm's brand.

All members of the Olney-Fraser verein are entitled to call themselves ‘Partners’ of the firm. The term ‘partner’ is still used because it has a meaning within the profession. It typically describes those senior lawyers within a firm who share in the direction of the firm and the rewards derived from their collective efforts. In an international law firm that uses a verein structure, members of the verein are typically the partners of its Member Firms.

Who can be a Partner?

Any Partner of a Member Firm is automatically entitled to be a Partner of Olney-Fraser.

In addition, a Member Firm may nominate a senior lawyer from their firm who is not a Partner (e.g. maybe a Special Counsel, a Senior Associate or a semi-retired Partner) to join our Swiss verein and identify as a Partner of Olney-Fraser.

We also permit lawyers who practise under their own name to join our Swiss verein and identify as a ‘Partner of Olney-Fraser’, including:

Sole practitioners
Advocates, Barristers, Notaries and Special Counsel
Lawyers who are not working for a law firm (e.g. Corporate Counsel, Academics or Consultants)
Lawyers who are working part-time at the moment (e.g. parent, semi-retired, care-giver, sabbatical) but who still have some client work and need to attach themselves to a law firm to practice

Additional Requirements

In addition to any requirements that a Member Firm may have for new partners, we require that:

You must be a currently admitted legal practitioner in your jurisdiction with at least 5 years legal experience.
You must not have been struck off the roll of any jurisdiction at any time. If you have been, we may consider your application if you can explain the circumstances of your being struck off, and we may give you dispensation.
If you get struck off the roll of your local jurisdiction, or cease to practice as a lawyer (except for sabbaticals), you must resign as a Partner.
Legal executives, para-legals, conveyancers and clerks are not eligible.

Flexibility

You are not required to work full-time or exclusively for a Member Firm to be a Partner. We value work-life balance and embrace different working models, including work from home.

You may not want to (or be able to) work full time because you are a parent, a care-giver, or you simply choose not to work full time.

You may not want to (or be able to) work exclusively for us because you are a legal academic, a non-legal consultant, an advocate/barrister, a notary, or an in-house Counsel for a corporate.

You may also not want (or be able to) work continuously over the course of a year: you can take leave (for example - holiday leave, sick leave, parental leave, care-giving leave) or take a sabbatical (for example - study, teaching, volunteering) for as much of a year as you choose to.

You may not want to (or be able to) come into an office each day. You are welcome to work from home, or anywhere in the world for that matter.

These are choices for you, not for us; you don't have to ask our permission to dial up or down your workload, as agreed with your Member Firm, if you are a Partner of a Member Firm.

Salary/Drawings

If you are a Partner (or employee) of a Member Firm, you will be paid a salary/drawings by your firm.

If you are a lawyer who practises under your own name who is authorised to identify as a ‘Partner of Olney-Fraser’, you generate your own revenue and pay yourself from your own revenue.

Partner Bonuses

We pay Partner Bonuses directly to our Partners based on fee revenue that you refer to other Partners outside your Member Firm.

For example, you may have a client who needs work done by a Partner with relevant expertise or by a Partner in another jurisdiction. You will receive a bonus for referring that client/work.

We have a sophisticated accounting system that tracks all fees generated across Olney-Fraser, and allocates some of that revenue to us and some to the Partners who referred the client or the specific work.

To support these Partner Bonuses, each Member Firm (or a Partner, if they are not in a Member Firm) pays us referral fees for legal work that is referred to them. This is a percentage of the fee revenue referred to them from other Member Firms/Partners.

Partner Bonuses are paid to a Swiss bank account in your name. You will open this bank account at the firm's Swiss bank when you join our Swiss verein.

Partner Bonuses are transparently disclosed to your Member Firm.

Not Joint and Several Liability

You are not a ‘partner’ in shared joint and several liability with the other partners who you practice with. Most lawyers don't practice under those old partnership structures anymore. You do not take on joint and several liability with other ‘partners’ by becoming a Partner of Olney-Fraser.

How to Apply

Typically, you will automatically join Olney-Fraser when you become a Partner of a Member Firm. Your partnership will be notified to us by your firm, and our Partnerships team will automatically initiate a process through your firm for you to formally join our Swiss verein.

If you are a lawyer who wants to identify as a ‘Partner of Olney-Fraser’, we welcome you to apply to join us today. Our Partnerships team will contact you promptly to find out more about you and your legal experience, and your potential fit within our firm.

Senior Partners

In each jurisdiction, the Management Committee appoints a Senior Partner.

Senior Partners are typically selected from the Member Firm in that jurisdiction. They are designated as the “Senior Partner, [name of jurisdiction]”. Their role is:

To be a local figurehead for Olney-Fraser.
To ensure that we satisfy local compliance requirements with the regulatory body for the legal profession there.
To provide feedback and advice about the appointment of new Partners in their jurisdiction.
To be a point of contact between the Management Committee and other Partners.
To liaise with the Management Committee about Partner Bonuses.
To help resolve any disputes that may arise in their jurisdiction.

In some countries, where the legal profession is governed on a state-by-state basis (for example, the USA) we will have a Senior Partner in each state.

Senior Partner is a position of responsibility and seniority within our firm and within the legal profession in your jurisdiction. Nevertheless, Senior Partner is not an executive role (our firm is managed by the Management Committee, not by Senior Partners).

As we are in big growth phases, we are appointing new Senior Partners in each jurisdiction at the moment. Where we do not have a Member Firm in a jurisdiction yet, we may appoint a Senior Partner to help us establish a new Member Firm in the jurisdiction.

Senior Partners are paid an additional fee for their role. This fee will depend on the relative size and scale of Olney-Fraser's practice in their jurisdiction. Typically, this is an additional Partner Bonus calculated by reference to the total value of Referral Fees generated in their jurisdiction.

If you are interested in being considered for the Senior Partner role in your jurisdiction, please let us know. Please email our Founder Darren Olney-Fraser on darren@olneyfraser.com to introduce yourself.

Apply to Be a Partner