ASSOCIATES ON THE MOVE
Lateral Hires Are the Most Likely to Leave, NALP Study Says
BY MARK HANSEN
Hiring associates from other firms, a new study says, is like trying
to fill a bucket with a hole in it: The new hires keep leaking out.
About one in five associates who are lateral hires leaves his or
her new employer within the first two years, according to the study
of associate attrition, "Keeping the Keepers II: Mobility and
Management of Associates." And among lateral associates, minority
males are the most likely to leave their new employers by the end
of their second year, with 23.5 percent of them doing so, the study
found.
Midsize firms, described as those with 251 to 500 attorneys, report
the highest lateral attrition rate among all firms, with more than
half of the class of 1998, or 52.3 percent, reported gone by the
end of their third year of employment. Big firms, with 500 or more
lawyers, experienced the lowest attrition rates among firms of all
sizes, the study showed.
Among many factors, the study says, one reason for the difference
in attrition between big and midsize firms is that experienced associates
at midsize firms can then get better or more lucrative jobs with
larger firms.
The study, released in late September, was done by the NALP Foundation,
a research organization affiliated with the National Association
for Law Placement. The findings reflect associate hiring and departures
from 1998 through March 2003. A total of 84 NALP member firms representing
a range of sizes and geographic locations provided detailed data
on 7,227 entry-level associate hires and 5,976 lateral associate
hires.
The annual attrition rate for lateral associates was higher than
that of entry-level associates, the study found, with 19.3 percent
of laterals departing their firms, as opposed to 13.8 percent of
those at entry level. Among lateral associates, minority women were
most likely to depart over a five-year period, with an average of
24.9 percent of them doing so annually.
Eden Mandrell, a legal search consultant in Chicago, says lawyers
tend to be risk-averse people, so it is not surprising that entry-level
associates, particularly those who have gone through a firm's summer
program, have a much lower rate of attrition than laterals who have
made a job change.
"Once an attorney makes a lateral move, the uncertainty factor
usually disappears, and he or she is more apt to move again if something
about the new firm doesn't meet his or her expectations," she
says.
For the first time, this year's study also reports the reasons for
associate departures as given by the firms. Overall, the most prevalent
reason reported was "unmet performance standards," which
was associated with the departures of 20.4 percent of all associates
who left their jobs. Women were somewhat less likely to have left
for performance reasons (18.2 percent) than men (22.5 percent).
However, minorities were more likely than other associates to have
left for this reason (30.3 percent).
Other factors most frequently reported in associate departures
included geographic preference (16.8 percent), advancement opportunities
(7.4 percent) and billable-hour pressures (6.1 percent), the study
showed.
The study also documented the destinations of departing associates.
The findings showed that nearly half of all entry-level associates
who left a law firm job (42 percent) went to another firm. Among
laterals, just over one-third of the associates who left a firm
(34.5 percent) took a job with another firm. Entry-level associates
also acquired government legal positions at a relatively high rate
(12.1 percent). A slightly higher percentage of lateral associates
(13.7 percent) took legal jobs in business.
Mandrell says she did find the stated reasons for associate departures
surprising. She expected to see stress over billable hours cited
more often. "We frequently hear from associates that they want
a lifestyle change and want to work at a firm with a lower billable-hour
requirement or move in-house," she says.
Joseph E. Ankus, a legal search consultant in South Florida, says
he was most struck by the study's findings that among midsize firms,
more than half of all lateral associates in the class of 1998 had
left by the end of their third year and more than a third of all
lateral associates who had left a firm went to another firm.
"That underscores the fact that firms need to be doing a lot
more to retain their young associates rather than having to replace
them at an additional cost," he says.
Nashville, Tenn., lawyer Jonathan Cole, who chairs the ABA's Young
Lawyers Division, says the study was obviously done from the employer's
perspective. He found the attrition rates "troubling."
"While the statistics indicate some dissatisfaction with the
practice of law, the study fails to provide the underlying reasons,"
he says.
Although the study suggests that some performance expectations are
not being met, Cole says there is a growing dissatisfaction among
lawyers who practice in environments where the most important thing
is the billable hour, collections or some other "money only"
focus.
"Many young lawyers are looking to make a difference with their
law degrees and have some balance in their lives," he says.
"We want to both do well and do good, and some firms are, frankly,
not providing that opportunity."
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©2003 ABA Journal
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