Quitting In Droves LawCrossing Summary: Many associates quit soon after they get their first law firm job.
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Is BigLaw getting you down?
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Are you working your tail off only to get more work piled on top of what you already have?
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Do you feel disrespected, taken advantage of, or simply mistreated?
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If you are experiencing the same duress as many other young legal associate, it is no wonder there is such a high turnover rate among today’s legal associates, even as law firms enjoy increased profitswithin the last year.
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But more than that, as a lawyer, you’re needed; and that is what’s truly important.
80-hour workweeks, a seemingly insurmountable workload, and to make things acutely agitating, the long hours can invariably damage a lawyer’s relationships away from work. This is a common practice within the legal profession that is rarely discussed outside of law firms or courtrooms, as well as something rarely – if at all – taught in law school.
In fact, it is as if attorneys are required to grit and bear the consequences of their job without showing any outward pain or struggle, much like an injured pro athlete, or a soldier who experiences PTSD. Simply put, many associates suffer this fate when they first begin their legal career, which causes them to quickly dispense with: •
Their feeling of triumph due to completing law school, and embarking on a strong legal career.
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Their feeling that their position as a lawyer has come to fruition for the better good.
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Their feeling that the population at large has a new advocate with fresh outlooks on law.
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All that quickly dissipates once a lawyer gets a taste of the inner workings of the sausage factories that represent today’s BigLaw firms. And while the before mentioned “abuses” are said to weave a common thread through many so-called prestigious legal establishments, an increasing number of lawyers have found that the only way to have a respite from the slave-like labor associated with a law firm is to quit the law practice entirely.
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Quitting law, however, is not (and should not be) an easy decision.
It is a wryly funny that law firms like to call themselves businesses, yet at the same time, behave nothing like a traditional money-for-goods entity that cares for its employees simply because that entity understands the value of its employees. On the opposite end of the spectrum, according to Rhonda Muir, Esq., attrition is back in the spotlight of the legal world with an ongoing 20% attrition rate among lawyers who should feel lucky to have a job. As the article explains, what is interesting about the 20% annual rate is that it remains the same as prior to the 2008 recession. Needless to say, this has caused panic within the legal world to the point legal professionals and consultants claim that with the alarming rate of departure, law firms will no longer be able to sustain their so-called “pyramid business model,” and work their drone attorneys until they drop. With that bleak outlook, the query was put forth as to why there is such a high rate of legal career migration to other interests when legal jobs remain scarce, salaries and prestige are high, and even big bonuses are coming back? While law firm turnover rate remains almost 10 times the 2-3% turnover rate at Fortune’s 100 Best Companies, legal insiders maintain that associates leave for many reasons, not the least of which is their own poor performance, as well as an evolving disinterest in the profession, its approachable amount of work, as well as other personal issues. Many associates who have summarily left the legal profession subscribe their reasoning to poor management, which, when you’re told (not asked) to work 60 to 80 hours a week, poor management to overworked legal associates is more or less the same as the reverend preaching to the choir.
This article first appeared "Quitting In Droves" on LawCrossing, also on Slideshare. LawCrossing is the world leader in "pure" monitoring and reporting of legal jobs, through its active and growing research into all legal employers throughout the world.