what's behind lawyer attrition?
My posts on lawyer experience management, nurturing the partner-associate business relationship, winning the hearts and minds of lawyers, and the economics of lawyer depletion have generated some interesting offline discussions on the root causes of lawyer defection from one firm to another.
While some believe that a desire for more money, status and autonomy remains the primary motivator, others think that many of today’s practitioner-defectors leave firms first and foremost to claim greater professional camaraderie and meaning. In my experience as a coach and consultant to lawyers, I’ve heard more and more practitioners express a willingness to sacrifice prestige and pay for fit and connection. As I’ve said before: High pay and big name clients might get law schools’ best and brightest through a firm’s door; but in the emerging age of the dual-centric worker, big money alone likely won’t keep many of them toiling there year after year after year.
Of course, there are lawyers who thrive in a pay-your-dues firm atmosphere where there’s scant positive feedback and mentoring, no sure prospect of making partner, little to no work-life synergy and tough competition for plum assignments [a business culture David Maister profiles in a terrific post called The End of Apprenticeship]. The legal profession would be in shambles if this wasn’t the case. As a recent CareerJournal.com article suggests, there will always be newly-minted and more seasoned lawyers willing to log long hours in a bid to get (and stay) ahead.
But firms trying to stem the tide of attrition within their ranks have to be candid enough to admit that there’s probably something beyond money, status and autonomy that the fleeing lawyers are seeking in those greener pastures. They must be willing to devote time, energy and other resources to ascertaining what their incoming and remaining lawyers really need to feel connected to the firm in healthy mind, spirit and body. And, once they have a handle on those lawyer needs, firms will have to decide whether or not they’re willing and able to take steps to meet them.
It boils down to passion. I decided to quit practicing on June 28, 2006. No fanfare. No hairpulling agonizing over the decision. I simply do not find it appealing anymore and decided to pursue my passion. The profession is a noble one but the headaches are not worth it.
I don't think lawyer attrition is necessarily a bad thing that needs to be fixed. The world could probably make do with fewer lawyers, especially those who are not happy being lawyers in the first place. There seems to be a fundamental premise that somehow anyone who enters the profession of law SHOULD stay and enjoy it. That's not how life works. Perhaps this is a fundamental American value -- that somehow if we get a good education and a high paying job, we should be happy. Happiness is a much simpler (and yet somehow more complex) endeavor than that. I applaud those who wake up and smell the coffee and decide that being a lawyer isn't all its cracked up to be FOR THEM. If the biggest problem that BIG LAW, LLP, has to address is finding new bodies to replace those who leave the profession or BIG LAW, LLP, then that's not really a problem. That's the business model. I think we all need to be honest about the business values of our profession. Let's face it, we got law degrees, not business or psychology degrees. Human resource management is not a strong suit of lawyers. Lawyers should not confuse the ability to read and write complex legal jargon and concepts with the ability to actually communicate with or mentor other human beings. Most lawyers are taught to win at all costs (or bill at all costs) rather than assessing a situation and coming up with a resolution that truly serves the interests of our clients and the community in general.
I have become a much happier lawyer over the years by following the principals embodied in the following quote by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger:
"The true function of our profession should be to gain an acceptable result in the shortest possible time with the least amount of stress and at the lowest possible cost to the client."