A system by which partnersâ€(tm) pay is decided by time served as partner in predictable sequence. Pay rises in a series of steps (eg, after one, three, five, seven and 10 years as a partner).
a manner of marching in file in which each person's leg moves with and behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead; "the prisoner's ankles were so chained together that they could only march in lockstep"