Back in May I reported on some research done by legal recruiters, Badenoch & Clark, on the Future of Law. There was a big divergence of views between partners and associates in law firms.
They have produced some more findings that continue the theme.
- 24% of associates plan to leave the legal profession in the next year. Eight per cent want a career break and 16% are quitting the profession.
- 34% gave difficulty of work-life balance as main reason for leaving.
- 10% cited personality and management problems as another reason for departing, emphasizing gaps between management and employee communication.
- And here's an interesting quote from the research:
An absence of communication over the future of the profession, such as change from lock step to merit based pay, has been a catalyst for relationship issues between management and associates to surface. The survey found that 47% of partners had discussed plans to change their firms’ pay structure over the next five years, yet only 23% of associates believed such discussions were taking place.
If we accept that associates are meant to be potential future members of the law firm, ie. partners, this research shows either that's a myth or partners haven't got a clue about how the organization of a law firm operates. I suppose there's nothing to say it can't be both.
Comments