What Makes a Law Firm a Good Place to Work

8/8/2019 What Makes a Law Firm a Good Place to Work

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WHAT MAKES A LAW F IR M A GOO D P LACE TO WOR K?

Ellen Fr eedman, CLM

2005 Fr eedma n Consu lting, Inc.

Wheth er a law firm is highly respected an d highly sought after for legal work m ay

or m ay not have an ything to do with whether people want to work t here. The most

objective mea sur es of employee sat isfaction or dissat isfaction ar e employee reten tion a nd

tu rn over. Tur nover is costly. In fact, experts estima te tha t th e actua l cost of tu rn over is

equa l to between 100150% of an individuals an nu al salar y. Reten tion, on th e oth er ha nd,

ha s th e ability t o reduce costs a nd increa se productivity; leading to great er pr ofita bility.

Tea mwork a nd coopera tion also impr ove with employee sa tisfact ion. Accord ingly, being a

good place to work will ult ima tely have m uch t o do with a firm s success.

When one u ses an adjective such as good, it becomes quickly appa ren t t ha t we ar e

dealing with a subjective determ inat ion. What is good for one individua l may n ot be good

for a nother . Ther e is no objective stan dar d to define wha t is good. As my gra ndm other

used to say, Ther es a lid for every pot. Mean ing tha t no mat ter wh at t he environmen t

th e firm cultur eth ere will be people who thr ive in it, a nd people who dont. The t rick is

not only to crea te a cultur e which will support t he t ype of work a nd client ele the firm

want s, but wh ich a lso ha s the ability to att ract an d reta in the t ype and qua ntity of peopleth e firm wan ts; who will derive th e most sat isfaction from th e firms un ique environmen t.

This is certa inly much ha rder th an it sounds.

To th e outsider, a law firm is a law firm. But t o an yone who has worked for m ore

tha n one firm, in any capa city, it is readily apparen t t ha t each firm ha s a u nique cultur e.

Some br oad generalizat ions can be made a bout the type of cultur e th at will best serve to

at tra ct a nd reta in certa in individuals. (There are literally hun dreds of ar ticles already

writt en on t his topic.) The cultu ra l needs of one gener at ionBaby Boomerswill be very

different from th ose of other gener at ionsGenera tion X or Genera tion Y. As an example,

Gener at ion Xers value flexibility in t he work environmen t, expect significan t recognition

and rewards, but are willing to take significantly reduced compensation in return for a

more ba lan ced lifest yle. Accordin gly, a firm which offers flextime, telecomm ut ing, generousvacat ion t ime, exten ded ma ter nity leave, pat ernity leave, and ea rly exposur e to client s will

find t hem selves a good place to work for Gen era tion Xers. For Gen era tion Yers, a gr eat er

emphasis on teamwork, personal interaction, mentoring, autonomy, lifestyle balance, and

assistan ce with student loan s will ma ke a firm more att ra ctive. Cultura l factors which can

grea tly influen ce the perception of the firm as a good place to work, or n ot, include:


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WHAT MAKES A LAW FIRM

A GOOD PLACE TO WORK? Pa ge 2 of 6

Freedma n Consulting, Inc.

(215) 628-9422

Compet itive, but not excessive, compen sat ion, with r ewar ds for extr aordina ryperforma nce by supersta rs

Training, mentoring, and role models in the professional skills of clientwork an d ma tt er ma na gement , as well as the business skills of mar keting,leadersh ip, an d business man agement

Creative benefits beyond the usual medical and disability insurance, such ascafeter ia pla ns, E APs, flex time, telecomm ut ing, emergency back-up

childcare, and sabbaticals

Clear comm un icat ions a bout th e firm , th e firm s expecta tions of th eemployee, an d candid feedback as to how th e employee is perform ing rela tive

to the expecta tions

Direct client interaction and challenging work assignments Opportu nity an d encoura gement to part icipate in m ana gement a nd decision-

ma king at the firm

Typically law firms fall somewhere in between t wo ends of a cont inuu m. On t he one

end is th e purely profit-driven cultu re. This firm operat es in business mode. It values

th ose th ings which a re directly tied to profits, su ch a s billable hours, ra inma king, and

prem ium billing. Those with significan t books of business a re t he power brokers a nd

cha nge agent s at th e firm. Associat es are viewed as profit cent ers, an d ar e added or

ter mina ted based on the volume of client work at a ny given time. The environmen t ten ds

to be sink or swim for attorneys.

On th e oth er end of th e cont inuu m is the firm wh ich is purely service-driven. This

firm operat es in th e professiona l mode. Valu e is placed on t he per ceived value of hourswork ed from a client per spective, the qu ality of th e product pr oduced, client service, an d

client sa tisfaction. Associat es are valued as futu re par tn ers a nd a good deal of ener gy an d

investm ent is spent developing skills of those att orneys, with a confidence tha t t he

investm ent will ultima tely be rewar ded for t he firm by production of super ior work pr oduct.

These firms develop strong mentoring relationships, and seek candidates who present

excellent a cadem ic creden tials an d ind ividua l qua lities. Firm a dministr at ion is an

importa nt part of firm citizenship. Mainta ining client r elat ionships is as importa nt as

origina ting them. And par tner s at t hese firms are evaluat ed and compensa ted based not

just on fee genera tion a nd ra inmaking, but also on t heir leadersh ip and ma na gement ,

mentoring, and bar association activities.

Most firm s fall somewh ere in between th e two extrem es on th e continu um . Whatcrea tes t he firm cultur e initially is th e belief system of th e firm s foun ders. The firms

foun ders n orma lly sha re a vision of th e type of firm t hey wish to crea te an d work in. They

usu ally sha re common valu es. The right culture creat es an at mosphere th ey find most

rewarding.


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Sometimes firms a re form ed without a clear vision, or with a differing vision a mong

th e principals. This can an d often does lead to inter na l str ife at th e firm . Subcultu res

develop which clash with other cultu res within t he firm , or with t he firm itself. Event ua lly

th is leads t o individua ls, or even wh ole depar tm ent s, leaving for a nother firm , or

esta blishing th eir own firm , with values more in synch with t heir own.

Typically, firms which suffer an inter na l clash of cultu res an d lack of comm on vision

exhibit symptoms such as

poor int ern al comm un icat ions inability to reach consen sus on chan ge lack of support for and/or confidence in firm leaders lack of accountability

power st ru ggles defections increased tu rnover decrea sed pr ofitability

Firm cultu re is not stagna nt. It ha s a tendency to cha nge over time. New

generat iona l leaders in a firm can cause a sh ift in th e value system and culture. For

example, the number of women attorneys joining firms has already had a significant impact

on t he a cceptan ce of altern at e work ar ra ngements, an d a lessening of the up or out

expecta tions. New cat egories of non-equity par tner ships ha ve emerged strongly in the past

decade not so much as an interim pur gatory, but a s a legitimat e alterna tive car eer pat h for

those whose career inter ests a re less tra ditiona l.

Sometimes a cultur al cha nge is ma de purposely based on mark eting strat egy. For

exam ple, a firm wh ich seeks t o esta blish itself as cutt ing edge may focus on a nd r ewar d

innovation in terms of use of technology, creation of new products for client markets, or

establishmen t of new practice groups to provide a stra tegic mar keting advan tage.

Man y times client s can affect t he cultur e of th e firm, ba sed on t heir own cultu res

an d expecta tions. One ha s only to look a t t he at mosphere in a firm which r epresents large

institutions, such as an insurance defense firm or banking firm, as compared to a litigation

boutique. Or an int ellectu al property firm concent ra ting on domestic ma nu factu rer s or bio-

med compa nies, compa red to one wh ich services Asian technology client ele alm ostexclusively.

The qu estion is, wha t significance does a ll th is ha ve for firm m an agemen t, or for

th ose seeking employment a t a firm ? Simply put , a firm mu st kn ow itself first a nd

foremost. It must k now its cultur e, an d wha t it values. And it must then seek to at tra ct


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people to the firm who ar e a good ma tch in ter ms of th eir own value syst ems. Doing so will

creat e the best work environment, a nd enha nce the bottom line. Its just tha t simple.

Or is it? If the firms cultur e is such th at th e pool of candidat es who will be

attracted to it is sharply limited, perhaps due to competitive firms in the area with differing

cultur es, the firm ma y have to ma ke cultur al cha nges in order to attra ct a nd reta in the type

of candidat es it seeks. In fact, firms n eed to continu ally monitor th e pulse of th e available

pool of applican ts in order to at tempt to understa nd t heir values a nd priorities, and wh en

necessar y adapt th e firm cultur e accordingly. But k eep in mind th at it isnt enough to ta lk

th e ta lk, the firm mu st a lso walk t he wa lk to hold onto those can didates.

According to the m ost recent associat e at tr ition st udy perform ed by the N ALP

Foun dat ion, cumula tive att rition ra tes for ent ry-level associat es is 8.4% within 16 month s

of employment. The cumulative attr ition r at e for lat eral a ssociates reveals tha t a bout one

in five later als (18.9%) ha d depar ted t heir law firm employers a t or nea r t he en d of th eir

second year of employment. Minority male lat erals departed a t a n a stounding rate of23.5% dur ing the same ter m. The an nua l at tr ition ra te of ent ry-level associat es was 13.8%,

with minority men depart ing at the ra te of 17.5%. The ann ua l at tr ition ra te for latera l

associat es was 19.3%, with minority women depa rt ing at t he ala rm ing rat e of 24.9%.

A few things ar e evident from these nu mbers. On th eir face, th ese numbers indicat e

tha t a n insufficient am ount of time is being spent evaluating firm cultur e a nd its impa ct on

hiring decisions. Fr om a n inter na l perspective it m eans t ha t th e firm either does not

sufficiently kn ow itself, or ma y not be port ra ying itself consisten tly a nd h onest ly to

can didat es. Fr om an external perspective it mean s tha t th e firm ha s not ta ken sufficient

time or used su fficient expertise to uncover wha t t he potent ial can didat es cultu ra l values

ar e, in order to ensure a good fit. For firms which fare worse tha n th e benchma rks in th is

sur vey, th ere is a lot of room for impr ovemen t in t he h iring process. For firms which far ebetter t han the benchma rks, there is an opportu nity to furt her a nalyze th e cultur al

environment at the firm in order to identify areas for fine tuning which can widen the

recruit ing adva nt age over th e compet ition for scarcean d growing scar ceremployee

resources.

Part of the problem is that a potential employeenot limited just to attorneys

par ticularly a n ent ry-level associat e, ma y not be su fficiently sophisticat ed or experienced

enough to un dersta nd t heir own cultur al preferences, let a lone a sk insight ful questions

rega rding th e firms cultu re. It is th erefore incumben t on the firm t o carefully exam ine th is

ar ea with t he a pplican t. Often firm interviewers ar e so intent on impressing and wooing

ta lent tha t t hey may give away the an swers before a sking the questions. And in a ddition,

par ticularly cra fty a pplican ts will ask key questions in the initia l stages of th e interview

process to ena ble them to cra ft t heir an swers in th e most appealing ma nner to the

inter viewer. The object for t he applican t, after a ll, is to get th e offer. Often litt le th ough t is

placed durin g th is process to ma king a good fit. And th e process is car ried out in such a

way as t o ma ke the firm believe that the candidate sha res cultu ra l values, when in fact this

is often not t he case.


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So initially th e firm must concent ra te on u ndersta nding certa in aspects of the

can didat es values, in addition to academ ic an d professiona l credentia ls. And it must t ur n

ar ound qu estions asked dur ing this phase to assure tha t input is purely that of th e

can didat e, and not a reflection of what the candidate feels the firm wan ts t o hear . What

you wa nt to know of th e can didat e is

wha t ar e the candida tes goals with respect to compensa tion, type an d var ietyof work, case responsibility, and workload

will th ose goals fit within th e fram ework offered by t he firm wha t a re t he candida tes values with r espect t o non-legal a ctivities, client

service a nd r elat ionship m an agement , fam ily and work balance, recreat iona l

activities, pro bono and so forth

will those values fit within th e fram ework offered by t he firm

how does th e candida te expect t o develop pra ctice skills at th e firm what role does the candidate wish to take downstrea m in firm ma nagement ,

ownership, an d rainma king

Those aspects of th e firm which m ost typically define its cultur e should be pr esent ed

to the can didat e. What a can didat e should know is

the firms cur rent an d fut ure goals and plans th e firm s ph ilosophy of ma na gement who are the firms leaders a nd wha t is their style wha t opportu nities will th e firm pr ovide for face-to-face int era ction,mentoring, communications how an d why th e firm does th e work it does how th e firm recognizes achievement how does th e firm view itself, e.g. wha t is t he firm vision an d bra nd wha t it ta kes to be successful at th e firm what criteria t he firm uses to determine who becomes a par tner

In sum, wha t m akes a law firm a good place to work is to underst an d an d in some

insta nces crea teth e law firm s cultu re in order to provide an environmen t t ha t r esults inemployees feeling bett er a bout th emselves when t hey ar e in it, th en when they ar e not, so

th at th ey will love th eir work , and choose to stay. Ther e is no right cultu re, alt hough in

some cas es compet ition from other firm s in your ar ea m ay influence some a spects of your

cultu re out of necessity. Ther e is, instea d, an effective selection process which car efully


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explores t he va lues, work st yle an d priorities of applican ts, a nd car efully ma tches th em t o

the firm. By ensuring tha t a pplican ts a re a good ma tch to the firms cultur e, the reput at ion

of th e firm a s a good place to work will be enh anced, as will the bott om line of th e firm .

A version of th is article originally appeared in t he N ovem ber/ December 2004

issue of Penn sylvania L awyer

2 0 0 5 F reed man Co n su l t i n g , In c . Th e in fo rmat io n in t h i s a r t i c l e i s p ro t ec t ed b y U .S .

co p y r ig h t . V i s i t o r s may p r in t an d d o wn lo ad o n e co p y o f t h i s a r t i c l e so l e ly fo r p e r so n a l

a n d n o n c o m m e r c i a l u s e , p r o v i d e d t h a t a l l h a r d c o p i e s c o n t a i n a l l c o p y r i g h t a n d o t h e r

ap p l i cab l e n o t i ces co n ta in ed in t h e a r t i c l e . Yo u may n o t mo d i fy , d i s t r i b u t e , co p y ,

b r o a d c a s t , t r a n s m i t , p u b l i sh , t r a n s fe r o r o t h e r w i s e u s e a n y a r t i cl e o r m a t e r i a l o b t a in e d

f r o m t h i s s i t e i n a n y o t h e r m a n n e r e x c e p t w i t h w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e a u t h o r . T h e

ar t i c le i s fo r i n fo rma t io n a l u se o n ly , an d d o es n o t co n s t i t u t e l eg a l ad v ice or en d o r sem en t

o f a n y p a r t i cu l a r p r o d u c t o r v e n d o r .

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What Makes a Law Firm a Good Place to Work