Another take on associate retention rates

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Most of the news about associate retention is cast in negatives — quoting, for example, that 60-62% of entry-level associates will have left their firms by the end of their fourth year in practice.  What if changing jobs more frequently is simply a fact of modern life? Or the result of dual career couples, the consequence of frequent moves from one city to another, or an indication of refusal to settle for a career or lifestyle?

Although the thoughts don’t transfer entirely to law, Penelope Trunk, the Brazen Careerist, has an interesting post today titled  Make Life More Stable With Frequent Job Changes.  The thrust of the post is that most new employees today will change jobs every two years (that’s what I find difficult to apply to a legal practice), will start adult life by moving back into their parents’ homes, and “will say that money is not their number one concern in evaluating a job.”   Trunk argues that the old paths to stability no longer work and that job-hopping is the new way to be stable, which she defines as “knowing you have a life where you can do what you love, during your whole life, not just at the end.”

Trunk identifies 5 ways to use frequent job changes to build stability.  Whether you change jobs once or repeatedly, most of these are excellent suggestions:

1.  Build up a strong skill set quickly.

2.  Get good at making transitions.

3. Make the most of the in-between-jobs time.

4.  Get out of paying your dues.  (If you find a way to do this in law, forget practice and write up your methodology instead.  If it really works, you’ll be a prize-winning author.  I’ll remain skeptical.)

5.  Keep your finances in order.

Watch for upcoming posts that will wrestle with the question of whether it’s possible to find career stability — meaning, satisfaction, rewards in whatever metric(s) apply to you — without changing jobs so frequently.  Perhaps it will surprise no one that I think the answer is unreservedly, yes!

Predictions following the salary bump

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Has anyone missed the news about the recent salary bump?  Somehow, I doubt it.

Plenty of questions remain, such as to what extent salaries increases will spread to other parts of the country and what increased expectations, if any, will be imposed on the anointed associates.  I’d like to make several predictions about what’s likely to happen following the raises:

1. In-house hiring will go up.  I’ve talked with several in-house lawyers who’ve been a part of strategy meetings on how to cope with the trickle-down effect (or the anticipated trickle-down) of the bump.  The consensus seems to be that it’s time to bulk up in-house, since it may be cheaper for corporations to keep their routine legal work rather than sending it to highly priced outside counsel.

2. Midsized and smaller firms will be even more competitive with large firms.  Again, clients will expect (with good reason) to see higher legal bills from large firms following the salary increase.  Associates will likely need to bill more hours, hourly fees will likely go up, and so on.  Midsized and smaller firms may feel a need to raise salaries a bit, but the chance of starting salaries coming even close to $160K in these firms is remote.  Accordingly, clients may be interested in retaining these firms for the same reasons that they will be bringing more work in-house: to reduce legal bills.  This is a real opportunity for midsized and smaller firms.  Those firms can capture additional work, and they’ll have a chance to wow the client and perhaps increase the range of services to the client.

3. More senior lawyers (i.e. partners, especially those who experienced the market bubble and burst of the 1980s and late 1990s/early 2000s) may brace for a market drop.  What that tendency may mean is anybody’s guess, but it’s reasonable to expect that this will happen.  They may also resent the associates making these stratospheric salaries, making office camaraderie somewhat dicey.

4. Significant increases in lateral moves.  Given these huge salary increases, associates may be more easily tempted to jump ship.  Will the bumps stem associate attrition?  Doubtful, since the increases have been fairly well-matched within markets.

So, those are my predictions.  What do you foresee?  Comments welcome, as always.

Sustainability

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I burn my candle at both ends
It will not last the night.
But ah my foes and oh my friends
It gives a lovely light.
       Edna St. Vincent Millay

What do you think when you read this?  If you’re like many lawyers, you felt a flutter of recognition — perhaps just before you recoiled at the idea that, perhaps, your candle won’t “last the night.”  It’s just the weak who can’t burn and burn and burn, right?

Sustainability isn’t a sexy word, and most of us don’t see it as something to aim for.  After all, we tend to want bigger and better and more, not homeostasis.  What does it mean, though, to have a “sustainable practice”?

According to Merriam-Webster, “to sustain” means (among other things) “to supply with sustenance: nourish” and “to keep up, prolong.”   And sustainable means, of course, “capable of being sustained” or “of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of sustainable methods.”

How do you nourish your practice?  How does your lifestyle support you in keeping up and prolonging your practice?  Ideas that occur to me (aside from the standard work less and play more, which is easy to say and very difficult to do):

1.  Discover what’s meaningful to you and focus your attention and practice on that.  If it’s client service, you will draw a strength and energy from serving your clients that someone who’s in practice because of the intellectual stimulation won’t experience.  Connecting to what matters to you illuminates your purpose.  Having a purpose nourishes your practice.

2.  Delegate.  If you can identify aspects of practice that you personally don’t have to fulfill, you’ll increase your energy by passing it along to someone who can handle it.  If you find yourself thinking that you’ll spend less time doing it (whatever it is) than teaching someone else to do it, consider whether you’ll save time over the long run if you turn it over, even if it requires an investment of time now.

3.  Connect.  If you enjoy socializing, make sure you have a group of lawyers you join for lunch or drinks or a volleyball game on a regular basis.  You’ll increase social contact, have a group of colleagues to use as sounding boards, build a resource for giving and getting referrals, and more.  You can even do this online, but consider whether you’d get more out of interacting with flesh and blood colleagues.

4.  Notice how your body feels when you have adequate sleep, nutrition, and exercise.  Just notice.  If your noticing convinces you that you feel better and have more energy, consider what to do with that knowledge.

5.  Develop discipline.  You can put a schedule in place that will support you.  Plan time when you put your calls on hold and get concentrated work done.  Set time aside for meeting with your support staff, the lawyers you supervise, and those who supervise you.

6.  Take time for outside interests.  Hike, read, act, whatever… But don’t allow yourself to be one-dimensional.

7.  Do you live on adrenaline and caffeine?  If so, chances are that you’re running from crisis to crisis.  Ask yourself whether there’s a way to limit the crunches to times when there’s really a crisis.  What feels good about putting out fires?  Spending some time resolving this will provide support for making changes that leave you working on a non-emergency basis, which facilitates having more energy.  Adrenaline and caffeine are great, but they’re hardly the key to a sustainable practice or life.

8.  Set aside time to check your progress on these and other habits that support you and your practice.  Because it’s easy to get sucked into a hectic schedule (with your candle burning not only at both ends but in the middle, too), arrange a relationship that will hold you accountable to whatever adjustments you may decide to make.  Consider whether coaching might be the appropriate relationship.

The Secret Society of Happy Lawyers

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In the discussions that led up to the Lawyers Appreciate…  countdown, Stephanie West Allen mentioned the Secret Society of Happy People to me.  The name captured me – raptured me! — and it kept floating back to the surface as we were choosing the name for the countdown.

Stephanie recently requested authorization from Pamela Gail Johnson, the creator of the Secret Society of Happy People, to establish a Secret Society of Happy Lawyers, and permission was gladly granted.  Visit Stephanie’s Idealawg post for further details.

Now, before we introduce The Secret Society of Happy Lawyers, Stephanie and I are curious: what does that name conjure for you?  Does it bring up images, tales, jokes, dreams?  Please share!  Post your comments here, on Stephanie’s blog, or email Stephanie or me.  Or post something on your own blog, and I’ll add a link here.  We’re eager to hear your thoughts and ideas about the new Secret Society of Happy Lawyers.  And stay tuned: there’s lots to share!

Challenges for female litigators

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Yesterday’s WSJ Law Blog pointed to an American Lawyer article entitled Obstacle Course, outlining the challenges female litigators have in “break[ing] through old stereotypes to build top-tier practices” in the “male-dominated world of litigation.”

Referencing one female partner’s internal struggle not to deal with food arrangements for trial prep meetings and another who was asked (15 years ago) by opposing counsel to record a trial transcript when the court reporter failed to show, the article discusses the subtle, subtextual, often subconscious gender role expectations that impact women today.  Challenges include having to make a conscious choice on whether to soft-pedal, thus risking being (or being perceived as) too passive, or being assertive and being perceived as overly emotional or bitchy; issues that arise when a woman’s childbearing years coincide with the years in which she may be pursuing partnership; work/life balance issues that are difficult on their own and perhaps overwhelming when combined with concerns about being thought to be on a “mommy track;” and a need to impress and overcompensate for assumed or perceived  gender differences.

It’s a fascinating article, and the comments on the WSJ blog are equally interesting.  Readers, I invite you to weigh in here.  What do you perceive about gender in litigation?  Do you think it’s different for litigators than for transactional lawyers?  And women, do you feel a need to excel that’s exacerbated by gender?

Get happy!

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Are you thinking this is a strange topic for a legally inclined blog?  Perhaps it isn’t…

Yesterday’s New York Times Magazine featured an article titled Happiness 101,  addressing the field of positive psychology.  As described on U Penn’s website Authentic Happiness, positive psychology is the field founded by Dr. Martin Seligman that:

focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions. His research has demonstrated that it is possible to be happier — to feel more satisfied, to be more engaged with life, find more meaning, have higher hopes, and probably even laugh and smile more, regardless of one’s circumstances. Positive psychology interventions can also lastingly decrease depression symptoms.

Sounds appealing, doesn’t it?

Stephanie West Allen has collected many references that promote positivity and the pursuit of happiness and examine the greater success enjoyed by happy lawyers.  Bob Sutton (author of the forthcoming book The No Asshole Rule, which I’ll be reviewing in the next few days) has suggested that smiling can make you happier and encouraging others to smile can cut  down on asshole behavior.

If you haven’t done so yet, do check out the list of “Lawyers Appreciate…” posts for a positive look at the law and those who practice it.

I invite your comments about the relationship between happiness and your professional success/satisfaction.

Lawyers Appreciate…

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I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the storm of “Lawyers Appreciate…” posts over the last 10 days!  Each blogger has added a new perspective on what lawyers appreciate and why.  As I read, I found myself wondering what I might add when my turn came; as it turns out, that’s been easy.

Lawyers appreciate colleagues.  I can’t count the number of times that I’ve stuck my head into someone’s office and said, “Hey, can I bounce something off you?”  The resulting conversations almost always helped me to think through my approach, to challenge my reasoning, to hone my arguments — and also to provide the pleasure of discussing interesting issues with bright colleagues.

Lawyers appreciate support staff.  I’ve worked with various secretaries, assistants, paralegals, IT staff, filing clerks, HR staff, librarians, and the like over the years.  Although it’s tempting to say that I couldn’t have carried the workload I did without those people, that isn’t completely true, as proven by the years in which I filled each of those roles myself.  But working with those professionals made my life easier and more pleasant on many occasions, and I am grateful for the terrific support I’ve received.  (And on this note, do read Mike McBride’s musings on lawyers’ frequent failure to praise support staff for their work and contrasting the tangible rewards that lawyers may offer instead… It may be an eye-opener.)

Lawyers appreciate technology.  Although at times technology makes it feel that we have to be “on” 24/7, technology makes it possible to work much more efficiently, to present arguments more persuasively, and to spend time away from the office without being unreachable.  Used responsibly, the benefits of technology far outweigh the downside.

Lawyers appreciate laughter.  The work that we do is serious, sometimes deadly serious.  But we can’t fall into the trap of taking ourselves as seriously as we do our work.

Lawyers appreciate our clients.  Without them, we’d have nothing to do!  But, more importantly, I am often humbled to realize that someone is willing to trust me with their representation.  What may be a fairly routine matter to me is a critical matter to my client, and it’s an honor and a privilege to be invited into clients’ businesses and lives.  This appreciation forms the basis for my insistence on excellent client service.  Clients deserve no less.

Finally, lawyers appreciate being viewed as people, rather than as professional roleplayers.  We each bring a unique combination of perspectives, experiences, skills, likes, dislikes, values, etc. to the practice of law.  No two lawyers will approach practice in the same way.  That’s what makes it fun to work with colleagues, and that’s why there’s a practice niche that will work for every lawyer who wants to practice.

Thanks to Stephanie West Allen for the conversations that led to the “Lawyers Appreciate…” countdown, and thanks to everyone who’s played with us!  My commitment is to hold on to this spirit of appreciation in 2007 and to revisit it often, in hopes of making what’s strong even stronger.

Happy New Year!

Closing the year in appreciation

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I am so delighted to read all of the “Lawyers Appreciate…” posts that legal bloggers have shared in the past few days!  (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check here for the explanation and here for the list of links.)  I’ll be sharing my appreciation on the last day of the countdown.

Until then, I’ll be appreciating the joy of having personal time for relaxation.  I’m on vacation now, and my computer died somewhere en route.  I’ll also appreciate my habit of backing up my computer, because that means that everything will be waiting for me on my backup hard drive when I get home.  So, please pardon my silence over the next few days.  I’ll be back on December 31.

Professional inspiration: The Honorable Elbert P. Tuttle

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The end of the year always strikes me as a good time to reflect on what works well in the law and why we lawyers do what we do.  Today, I’d like to introduce readers to one of my legal heroes, The Hon. Elbert Parr Tuttle.

Judge Tuttle served on the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals from 1954 until his death in 1996.  He’s remembered as a model attorney and judge, one who represented the absolute best in the profession.  Judge Tuttle was tremendously active in civil rights cases, both as a lawyer and a judge and, along with other members of the Fifth Circuit (John Minor Wisdom, John Brown, and Richard Rives) was instrumental in bringing effective desegregation to the South.  (The anecdote at the beginning of this story about Judge Tuttle illustrates not only how he came to play such a role; it also illustrates the power that parental example can have on children, and children then on the world.)  For more on Judge Tuttle’s life and accomplishments, see any of the memorials and articles written about him, and definitely read Jack Bass’s phenomenal book Unlikely Heroes.

Judge Tuttle gave a commencement speech at Emory Law School in the 1950s that defines professionalism.  It has informed my understanding of what it means (and what it should mean) to be an attorney, and I make it a habit to read through Judge Tuttle’s speech several times a year.  The full speech is not available on the Internet, unfortunately.  But here’s an excerpt, provided by the Washington Realty Group:

The professional man is in essence one who provides service. But the service he renders is something more than that of the laborer, even the skilled laborer. It is a service that wells up from the entire complex of his personality. True, some specialized and highly developed techniques may be included, but their mode of expression is given its deepest meaning by the personality of the practitioner. In a very real sense his professional service cannot be separate from his personal being. He has no goods to sell, no land to till. His only asset is himself. It turns out that there is no right price for service, for what is a share of a man worth? If he does not contain the quality of integrity, he is worthless. If he does, he is priceless. The value is either nothing or it is infinite.So do not try to set a price on yourselves. Do not measure out your professional services on an apothecaries’ scale and say, “Only this for so much.” Do not debase yourselves by equating your souls to what they will bring in the market. Do not be a miser, hoarding your talents and abilities and knowledge, either among yourselves or in your dealings with your clients . . .Rather be reckless and spendthrift, pouring out your talent to all to whom it can be of service! Throw it away, waste it, and in the spending it will be increased. Do not keep a watchful eye lest you slip, and give away a little bit of what you might have sold. Do not censor your thoughts to gain a wide audience. Like love, talent is only useful in its expenditure, and it is never exhausted. Certain it is that man must eat; so set what price you must on your service. But never confuse the performance, which is great, with the compensation, be it money, power, or fame, which is trivial.. . . The job is there, you will see it, and your strength is such, as you graduate . . . that you need not consider what the task will cost you. It is not enough that you do your duty. The richness of life lies in the performance which is above and beyond the call of duty. 

Elbert Parr Tuttle, “Heroism in War and Peace”, The Emory University Quarterly. 1957;13:129-30.

 

Fighting BlackBerry addiction

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Last week’s Wall Street Journal featured an article titled, BlackBerry Orphans (subscription required, free preview available).  If it weren’t so serious, it would be funny:

As hand-held email devices proliferate, they are having an unexpected impact on family dynamics: Parents and their children are swapping roles. Like a bunch of teenagers, some parents are routinely lying to their kids, sneaking around the house to covertly check their emails and disobeying house rules established to minimize compulsive typing.

BlackBerries are wonderful gizmos that can make it much easier to balance practice and life.  No need to sit in the office waiting for an email if it can reach you while you’re on personal time.  However, so many BlackBerry users seem to respond to device’s siren song as if nothing could be more important.  One of my clients even confided to me that she would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and turn on her BlackBerry just to see if any important email had come in since she’d gone to bed.  I confided to my client that I’ve done the same, too.  And then I shared my strategies for making the BlackBerry serve me rather than vice versa.

If you’re having trouble confining your BlackBerry time, try the following tips published by the WSJ Law Blog:

  1. During meals, do not check email.
  2. Do not hide your email habits from family members. If you feel that someone would be upset to see you BlackBerrying, it’s a sign that you probably shouldn’t be.
  3. Commit to stop emailing while driving (even at red lights), walking across the street or doing anything that requires careful attention.
  4. Do not check email for the first hour of the day. In addition to giving you time to leisurely read the newspaper or spend time with your family, the practice will help you shake the tic-like checking ritual.
  5. Endeavor to leave the mobile email device in the car or at home when attending any function taking place at your child’s school, or when picking up your child from school.
  6. Decide on an email-free block of time. Parents should first assess their child’s conversational patterns — some like to talk about their day immediately after school, others just before bedtime. Even if your child doesn’t seem interested in talking, stick to your promise not to email during that time.
  7. Set boundaries at work: Alert your colleagues that your mobile email device will be turned off during the predetermined time slot.
  8. Actually turn off your device and stick it in a drawer during the time you’ve designated as email-free.
  9. If you are in the middle of a work crisis, still try to respect some boundaries. Consider blocking out a few 15-minute periods to check email — and then turn the device off again. Honestly assess whether the situation at work is an actual crisis that can’t be solved without your oversight.
  10. When emailing while socializing or spending time with your family, ask yourself if your priority at that moment is enjoying after-work activities or getting work done. If it is the former, power-down. If it’s the latter, return to the office.
  11. Upon arriving home, practice a ritual that helps you mentally separate the work day from the after-work evening. Light a candle, put on music, pour a cocktail. Don’t check your email during this time.
  12. If mobile email overuse creates tension between you and your significant other, consider creating jointly agreed-upon BlackBerry-free zones. For instance, unless your bedroom doubles as a home office, consider maintaining it as a sanctuary of your personal life.

And if, as one commenter stated, your firm would never permit use of these tips, query whether the firm’s standards and values match your own.