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In today’s market, associate retention can be challenging for a multitude of factors. With rising attrition rates post-pandemic, finding loyal talent to replace your past employees can be difficult. What’s more, generational shifts could be leading aspiring law associates to have different expectations when it comes to work-life balance and flexible options. Finding a solution to this is important when you take into account the costs of turnover: that’s lost productivity, legal recruiting firm fees, and disruptions to client communications.
To get a handle on how to keep law associate talent engaged, it’s important to understand why associates leave, the importance of clear career pathways and mentorship opportunities. Let’s explore some of the leading ways to keep law associates invested in your business.
Before we look at some key associate retention strategies, it’s useful to understand why associates leave in the first place. Long hours can be a major challenge to law associates, particularly in the long term. Repeatedly long shifts can contribute to mental health concerns such as lawyer stress and burnout. Continuous overwork can also lead to poor work quality, damaging long-term career prospects for these employees. It makes sense, then, that high salaries may not reduce turnover.
That’s why, despite lower pay, many law associates may be drawn to in-house roles rather than private practice. The relative stability and hourly predictability of the role can lead to better career progression options, including specialization opportunities. While law associates typically earn less in in-house roles, the opportunity to become an industry specialist is attractive to many law associates at the beginning of their career.
According to a report, the partner career progression model is becoming less appealing to law associates; 75% of law associates plan to stay in private practices over the next five years.¹ This means that for many associates, career progression means more than just making partner. Partners are often self-employed, and even though they have a high salary, this can come with greater financial and professional responsibilities, leading to a lack of work-life balance that many law associates are looking for today.
So what are the alternatives? Some law firms are allowing successful, high-performing lawyers to choose their own career growth paths. Even if a law associate does not want to eventually progress to partner, there are other clear options available, like moving into a specialist practice area, or working in the public sector as legal counsel.
Involve law associates in strategic initiatives and decision-making. While this autonomy can be appealing, it’s still important to create transparent benchmarks for career advancement. Remember to strike a balance between encouraging law associates in discussions while providing clear expectations. This could look like providing early responsibility, but also development, training, and coaching could be a step forward. This is what we’ll be exploring in the next section on how to invest in mentorship and sponsorship programs.
Structured law mentorship and sponsorship programs can vastly improve associate retention and satisfaction. Retention rates are 50% higher for employees with these programs than for those who do not.² There’s also a strong case for partners and senior staff becoming involved in mentoring and sponsoring, since they are responsible for setting an example for a company culture built around success and entrepreneurship.
Sponsorships are becoming more common than traditional mentorship programs, and in some cases, might be replacing them. If you plan to establish a sponsorship scheme, it’s worth bearing in mind the differences between sponsorships vs. mentorship schemes.
Sponsors open doors for their protégée within their firm, putting them forward for opportunities and building their skill sets so that they’re able to reach new heights. This investment provides them with benefits too; sponsors might invest their time in a junior associate because they speak another language, or have knowledge of an untapped market the firm is looking to branch into. Mentors, on the other hand, expect less in return.
If you do choose to go down the mentorship route, then having a formalized mentorship program in place could be more effective than simply relying on organic ones. This can be an integral part of the associate retention strategy, since it secures mentorship as a key part of an employee’s development, meaning that no employee gets left behind. Formal mentorship schemes make it easier to set expectations, track results, and measure performance according to KPIs.
Identify shared connections when establishing mentorship schemes. Encouraging senior lawyers to mentor associates with similar specializations, interests, values, and working styles could be particularly effective. Also, look for a compatible communication style between mentors and mentees while encouraging mentees to challenge themselves and build their confidence in new areas.
Like mentors, sponsors within a firm can also be great role models for junior team members. Consider the effectiveness of connecting the right sponsor to the right law associate, based on the career trajectory they are looking for and the specialty they are looking to advance in.
Your firm could also benefit from sponsoring aspiring law associates at reputable universities, therefore identifying and training top talent even before it hits the hiring market. Demonstrating that level of commitment towards new talent can increase associate retention because it proves your loyalty and investment in the next generation stepping forward.
Mentorship and sponsorship aren’t the only ways to retain law associates. As we introduced before, normalizing boundaries, flexible working, and a work-life balance can also help retain law associates, particularly the new cohort coming through, who often prioritize these benefits over top salaries.
Alongside this, we recommend reducing pressure-cooker environments that drive associates away. Suggest some ways that legal operations directors and partners can temper these environments while still achieving strong results. Highlighting company culture during the onboarding stage is also key, as it can help new hires feel more connected to the firm and its ethos.
Compensation in firms isn’t everything, but it matters. This could particularly be the case if your firm is based in a city where competition for the best candidates is tighter. However, as many firms know, balancing fair compensation that reflects the market value of your associate’s skills with your organization’s economic status can prove challenging.
Tailoring benefits to associate needs can also be fundamental to retaining them. Since the pandemic, many firms offer flexible working or remote options, but this is not the full story. You may benefit from keeping closer track of hybrid working environments. This includes ensuring remote employees are included in meetings wherever possible. Even for remote lawyers, the onboarding process and introduction to the rest of the team could be a key part of them feeling included, and therefore more likely to stay with the firm.
Ensuring that your top associates receive the public recognition they deserve can help increase their loyalty and boost the profile of your firm. There are multiple ways to achieve this: consider putting them forward for American Bar Association awards or recognitions from reputable legal publications. This could be for pro bono work or professional excellence.
Ongoing feedback also provides an opportunity to check in with associates and see how they’re feeling about working for your firm. There are several ways to achieve this: regular one-on-one evaluations to discuss career progression can also help employees feel more connected with the company at large. Regular check-ins and “stay interviews” can also help catch early concerns and dealing with them quickly could help prevent talent loss.
Legal recruiting firms like E.P. Dine provide invaluable insights into what competing firms have to offer. You can use that insight to adjust retention strategies before it’s too late. And with E.P. Dine’s deep knowledge of the legal sector can also help you source not only the best talent but also those that are a cultural fit for your business.
Remember, retention is continuous and personalized. Listen to the needs of law associates. Reduce pressure-cooker environments and mentor top talent so that your firm can flourish in what is a changing and challenging hiring market.
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