An associate attorney is a lawyer and an employee of a law firm who does not hold an ownership interest as a partner.
[1][2] 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 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.
According to published data from the New York Times, the annual base salary for partner-track first year associate attorneys at top law firms in major U.S. legal markets such as New York, California, Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and Texas can range from $160,000 to $190,000 per year—with salary varying depending on the size and reputation of the firm.