Legal associates are losing interest in the partner track. A work-life balance and competitive salary are now their priority.
09 Apr 2024
Landing a job at a top firm and working your way up to partnership used to be the lifetime career goal for most lawyers. But only 25% of current associates want to make partner at their firm in the next five years.
Today, LexisNexis Legal & Professional ®, a leading global provider of legal information and analytics, released a new report – Disloyal lawyers: has the partnership model lost its lustre? – which reveals the majority of legal associates aren’t racing to take on the responsibilities, risks and potential rewards of partnership.
A LexisNexis survey of 500+ law firm associates and senior leaders found only a quarter (25%) of legal associates aspire to make partner at their current firm within the next five years, and only 3% at another firm. Nearly half of leaders (49%) said they have noticed a decline in the number of associates aspiring to make partner, with only 19% disagreeing. This rises to 63% for leaders at large law firms. Most leaders accredited this shift in behaviour to a desire for a better work-life balance (71%).
However, associates expressed a strong sense of loyalty to their current firms. More than half (58%) of associates said they plan to be at their current firm in five years’ time. Only 12% said they plan to leave private practice for in-house, ALSPs, or academic career opportunities. Yet, the majority of leaders (72%) believe associates are less loyal than previous generations. This jumped to 81% when looking at responses from leaders at medium and large law firms.
Interestingly, associates said they would be tempted to change firms for a better work-life balance and salary, at 71% and 69% respectively. Yet, when asked what would encourage them to stay put at their current firm, 70% said more money while only 36% said a better work-life balance.
The survey also revealed attracting and retaining talent to be one of the biggest challenges for law firms, with 69% of large law firm leaders citing this as their biggest challenge.
“The current generation of workers are disruptors, not conformers. If they see something they don't like, they'll push back. To meet growth goals and retain a feasible talent pipeline, law firms will need to find a middle-ground. They cannot rely on what has worked well in the past, especially with the AI revolution well on its way,” says Stuart Greenhill, Senior Director of Segment Strategy at LexisNexis.
The ungated report can be read here: https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/insights/disloyal-lawyers-and-the-partnership-model/index.html
