March 14, 2006
An Environment that Attracts and Retains Legal Professionals
Without the right environment, the attorneys currently in your law firm can become the lateral hires of the firm next door.
The same working environment that fosters retention of a firm’s legal professionals is also the one that attracts lateral candidates. The main reason laterals move among law firms is because they are disappointed with their own self-development. That bit of knowledge can make your firm an effective competitor for top legal talent.
The working attorney’s role is not enough to retain talented legal professionals. The attorney needs to feel that the firm is investing in his/her preparation to become a well-rounded member of the firm’s leadership. It is more than professional development; it should not be limited to their expanding legal knowledge and experience. It should include learning the business side of the law firm—it is the assimilation process taking an individual from newcomer status to that of an insider/part of the team. It is the conversion process from “just being on the bus” to driving the bus.
How does a firm create such an environment? You start by making professional development a main event for the firm with a holistic approach. Like anything worth doing, it takes planning, organization, delegation, goal setting, measurement and personal accountability if it is to work.
Start by developing a model development track, a checklist or plan for associates based on yearly benchmarks. Those tracks become an extraordinary recruiting tool for the firm.
The standard development tracks should, however, be individualized as needed for each member of the team. Assign responsibility to make sure that each member of the team has the time and opportunity to complete each year’s development track. Put systems in place to measure progress and identify deviations in time to take corrective action.
In addition to continuing legal education, development tracks should include training in leadership skills, relationship development, communications and presentation skills, sales and marketing, and technology. Over the first five years, development tracks should involve the legal professional in all aspects of law firm operations—dealing face to face with clients, taking responsibility as the primary contact for selected clients, participating in business development activities, building their own book of business, functioning as the supervising attorney, handling billing and collection responsibilities, performing new client intakes, participating in decision-making committees, reviewing financial reports (including productivity, work in process and fees receivables), performing management functions related to those reports, gaining an understanding of the financial aspects of a law firm, etc.
A small but increasing number of firms are hiring external coaches to work with their developing associates. Other firms pair associates with partner coaches and mentors. Where the internal approach is used, the compensation and evaluation of responsible partners should include an element related to the completed development activity and progress of their assigned associates.
Legal professionals who are actively growing from year to year both professionally and as law firm businessmen and women are far more likely to become the new generation of leaders in your law firm rather than someone else’s new lateral hire. Development means operating a “finishing school” that will enable a relatively young associate to become a well-rounded professional member of the firm’s leadership.
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Filed under HR by Tom Collins