Large Law Firms’ GenY/Z Problem

Many articles have been written about how the GenY/Z does not want to enter BigLaw anymore. Is that true? Not according to Recruiting Partners, or at least not to an extent where it would be considered an imminent problem. However, there is a looming issue – the lawyers who apply aren’t staying anymore.

Key words: Generation Y, Generation Z, Work-Life Balance, Recruiting

Image: Yaroslav Shuraev/Pexels

Work-Life Balance, again. Really? Really.

Recently I had a conversation with a friend who is conducting research in the legal sector. She told me about a study they conducted with associates of a major global law firm, in which the associates were asked about what is important to them in terms of employment. The results were apparently quite shocking (albeit not completely surprising to whomever has not spent the past decade in a coma): Most of the top answers evolved around the subject of Work-Life-Balance and not the job itself.

The same holds true for most of my friends (and also myself). Many of us started Law School with one clear path in mind: Law School – Bar Exam – BigLaw – Partner. I must add that my Alma Mater, the University of St.Gallen HSG is probably somewhat special in that its law school curriculum very much favored a BigLaw career. Some, albeit very few, didn’t finish law school in order to pursue another career path. The first big exodus came after law school, when many decided to start their careers at BigFour accounting firms or governmental agencies instead of submitting to the mandatory internships and studying for the bar exam. The second large drift away from the above career path came after the bar exam, when many decided to follow an in-house, judicial or prosecutorial career path or simply turned to smaller local or more digital law firms and legal service providers. I’m not saying that none of my friends ended in a BigLaw firm, no, quite the opposite. Still a lot of them do – but it’s far less than I would have predicted five years ago. I am also not saying that none of them are happy, because most of them are. However, my experiences seemed to confirm the narrative that BigLaw is losing its appeal.

What are the reasons behind all those intelligent, talented and also greatly ambitious young people deciding to pursue a career outside of BigLaw? It’s not because BigLaw wouldn’t pay up as in most countries BigLaw firms are still paying (a lot) more than most other businesses (incl. consulting firms; at least for entry-level positions) and the government.

A Dark Future for BigLaw?

Are BigLaw firms struggling to hire enough young lawyers to satisfy their clients’ demands? No, they’re not. At least not the strong brands, and at least not for the time being (and probably not for some time).

When talking to recruiters or HR partners in large law firms, there does not seem to be a shortage of candidates – for neither internships nor entry-level positions. Law firms with strong brands are still getting lots of applications from vastly qualified law students and young attorneys. There are still many young legal minds attracted by what Harvey Specter in the famous lawyer series “Suits” describes as “the Mountain” (as in: “I guarantee you'd be king of the hill. But you could never come back to the mountain.”) or “the Major Leagues” (as in: “Mike, you're in the major leagues, and you get to go toe-to-toe with the best there are.”) when counselling his protégé. So nothing to worry about?

While there doesn’t seem to be an immediate threat on the hiring front, darker clouds are looming over the retaining front. More and more young lawyers seem to be happy leaving the mountain to be “kings and queens of the hill”, join smaller law firms, become inhouse counsels or work for the government.

It’s, however, not because they don’t like what they are doing, but rather how it is done “in the major leagues”. And while many authors blame it on the recent pandemic, the trend has started long before that: many members of the GenY and increasingly the GenZ are not willing to sacrifice their social lives, mental (and sometimes physical) health as well as their personal freedom for a career in BigLaw that might – but only might – one day be rewarded with what was the goal of so many of us when we were in law school: making partner.

What can be done?

The one strategy that keeps popping up in the (especially US) legal market is to continuously lure in and keep top talent with steadily increasing salaries for their associates. At the beginning of this year US BigLaw firm Davis Polk made headlines with salaries ranging from 215’000 $ for their first-year associates to almost 400’000 $ for their eighth-year associates.

The “throw-money-at-the-problem”-solution, however, is neither sustainable nor feasible for the majority of law firms. So what else can they do in order to retain their talent? The good news is that law firms are getting a head start and don’t have to reinvent the wheel. First of all, because (at least for the time being) still a huge number of talented students and young lawyers want to work or gain some experience in large law firms. And when I say they don’t have to reinvent the wheel, I say that because all they have to do is looking at what the firms, organizations and other employers they lose their talent to, are doing differently. It might have something to do with working hours, constantly being on call, flexibility, use of technology and expectation management. Don’t hit the panic button and start throwing money at the problem, but rather start with a cool-headed analysis of your situation – and why not involve your young talent in the process while you’re at it?