Hey
@Tintin06 I understand the frustration you may be feeling right now, having gotten so close to your goal before. I also understand your anxieties as to the future impact to your career. However, I cannot emphasize enough that you cannot let your ideas about what you can achieve in the future be defined by the struggles you are facing at the moment.
There's this short inspirational story (which you can read
here) that you could take a look at. It's about Richard Youle, the current head of
Skadden's London office. He started of as a 2:2 graduate from Newcastle, worked at a high street firm in Yorkshire and subsequently had one of the most impressive career trajectories to reach the very top of the corporate law world. My point is that you should not focus so much this supposedly traditional or 'straight' path to success. We all have our own unique challenges and journeys - and entering the profession 'late' will not be as big of a roadblock as you think regarding your chances of making partner.
While it may statistically be true that not many people who qualify after 30 make partner, this is not necessarily because of any prejudice against them. Rather, I would expect this is in large part explained by the fact that as people get older, their motivation to stay in Big Law diminishes. After making a lot of money for a few years and once they reach an age where settling down and family start becoming increasingly important, even many associates who qualify at 24 decide to seek jobs with a better W/L balance. Truth is, the reason why a majority of people do not make partner is that they do not even try.
If you reach 8-9 PQE and you are constantly doing great work and are well liked by clients and the partnership, I would be really surprised for your age to hold you back in any way. When deciding on partnership promotion, what any firm fundamentally cares about is your ability to generate profits - and this ability has noting to do with your age.
