If you have managed a law firm for any length of time, there is a good chance that at least one attorney has already walked away from the practice. Understand why lawyers leave, and you may be able to prevent such an occurrence from happening again.
Why do lawyers leave?
A bar association conducted a survey of attorneys who left at least one position with a law firm. When asked their opinion regarding the then-current state of the traditional law firm model, some responded that although imperfect, the conventional law firm model was not without hope.
When asked what sort of policy adjustments might have inspired them to stay at a particular legal firm, survey respondents mentioned one thing more than any other: Time.
Overwhelmingly, lawyers leave law firms due to the intensive time demands of the job. Balancing billable hours with quality family time can cause so much stress and anxiety, a perfectly qualified firm attorney may opt to change firms or even quit practicing law altogether simply to avoid the feeling of being “on-call” 24/7.
Stress and time demands aren’t the only factors that lead to attorney attrition.
A lot of lawyers break away from law firms to alleviate their firm-demanded workload, but they sometimes leave a legal partnership due to an unhealthy interpersonal work environment. Company culture that includes such negatives as absence of transparency, bias, and a deficit of co-equality often inspire seasoned lawyers to leave a firm they’ve been with for years.
Rethink your business model, and lawyers may be less likely to leave.
Always offer competitive benefits to firm employees
Don’t start a wage war with the law firm down the street, but never forget to provide generous compensation to your associates. Don’t force any attorney to work overtime just to pay their expenses.
Do away with the concept of billable hours as something to brag about
One particularly eloquent survey participant attributed their leaving to a “culture of billable hours bravado” that gave some firm associates a perverse sense of pride in spending more time at work than they did with their families. Shift away from rewarding extreme hours and fairly compensate lawyers who opt away from overtime.
Facilitate freelancing
Contract work for lawyers who freelance is a concept that is not only here to stay but also an increasing concept in the Caribbean. It seems fair to say that many, if not most, attorneys dream of practicing their profession from a tropical location. There are countless reasons an absolutely competent legal professional would opt for life as a freelance lawyer. Some wish to put a cap on their own working hours. Others care for kids or aging parents and prefer to work limited law hours on nights and weekends. Still others prefer to prepare legal documents in lieu of battling it out in court.
If your law firm pays freelancers on a by-the-project basis for things like preparing motions and applying for trademarks, you’ll free up your full-time associates for more challenging assignments. Many freelancers are up for longer-term projects such as preparing e-discovery documents and assisting with mergers and acquisition transactions.
Freelance lawyers who enjoy their work are likely to stick around a long time.