Law firms are starting to discovery a disturbing trend. Their associates do not all have a desire to be partners. In fact, more and more associates are looking at having a balanced lifestyle rather than the “secure” future of partnership. Firms need to wake up to this fact and reconsider their operational model before it is too late. Instead of being able to choose future partners from a group of associates all of whom want to make partner, firms may have to choose from among a small percentage who want partnership and then decide what to do with the others.
In the near future, there will be more jobs than applicants. It will be a candidate’s market. And candidates may be choosing firms not on the basis of their prestige or high starting salaries and benefits, but on their culture and the quality of life they afford their employees.
Wake up firms!! Look at your cultures. Consider how you treat your associates and staff. Give some thought to whether you have a mentoring program, offer development plans, give serious feedback and performance reviews, listen to what your employees want to be doing and in other ways think about your firm from an employee point of view.
And remember, what you are not doing, some other firms will do. And when future employees have a choice, where do you think they will go?
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