Is it possible that one remains an associate for say 4-5 years? Also, does the chance of getting fired increases in this case? How hard is it to get promoted to SA
Not really if you're not a lateral hire. If you started your career at a T1 firm fresh out of college as an A0, in all probability you will become an SA after 4 years. If you think your partner does not really like you or your billables are too low compared to other associates, you can make a strategic shift when you're an A3. The new firm you'll join will have no prior track record to evaluate you other than your specific performance for that year and in all probability, they will promote you along with your peers/batchmates.
The same also holds for PA promotions, unless your firm, like CAM, has some weird practice of "PA-Designate" - which is just another signal for you to jump ships.
That said, promotions are slowly becoming tighter at the top levels. 10-15 years ago Indian corporate law firms were just building up, so partner promotions were a straightforward thing after 9-10 years of career. Some even used to get it after 7-8 years. However, there will soon have to be an upper cap on the number of partners. In such a scenario, partner promotions can soon start taking upto min 10-15 years PQE similar to foreign law firms.
Not easy to go from A to SA. There are some people I know who have done it in 4 years or less than, and I personally feel they were a cut above the rest.
Is it possible that one remains an associate for say 4-5 years?
Also, does the chance of getting fired increases in this case?
How hard is it to get promoted to SA
Quote: Associate to SA promotion is not easy. Yet it is easier than SA to PA or PA to Partner promotion.
The same also holds for PA promotions, unless your firm, like CAM, has some weird practice of "PA-Designate" - which is just another signal for you to jump ships.
That said, promotions are slowly becoming tighter at the top levels. 10-15 years ago Indian corporate law firms were just building up, so partner promotions were a straightforward thing after 9-10 years of career. Some even used to get it after 7-8 years. However, there will soon have to be an upper cap on the number of partners. In such a scenario, partner promotions can soon start taking upto min 10-15 years PQE similar to foreign law firms.