The Foster Group Featured in Law.com on How Midsize Law Firms Lure Top Talent
/Midsize Law Firms Lure Top Talent with Lifestyle Benefits, Leadership Opportunities
Unable to outbid large firms, middle-market law firms are recruiting and retaining lawyers by pushing their advantages, write The Foster Group’s Michelle Foster and Drew Foster.
There will almost always be a segment of attorneys for whom the highest salary is the single most important consideration. However, many attorneys point to other factors which are equally important, if not more meaningful than money. These attorneys are interested in fulfilling personal and professional goals, achieving improved work/life balance and advancing their careers. In response, middle-market firms are implementing innovative recruitment tools to onboard top talent in this highly competitive lateral market.
Middle-Market Firms Help Attorneys Achieve Work/Life Balance
The practice of law has evolved to require a steep commitment in terms of billable hours. This requirement varies by firm and level, but a typical associate is expected to bill between 1,800 - 2,200 hours per year, and a typical partner bills between 1,400 and 1,900 hours per year. We hear from many associates that they are actually billing as much as 3,000 hours! That schedule does not leave much room for competing priorities. Understandably, hybrid work models and remote work options are enticing attorneys looking for better work/life balance.
Many top-level attorneys seek flexibility to bill lower hours, and middle-market firms see the value in attracting that talent. For example, we recently spoke with a law firm allowing attorneys to choose whether they work 1,000, 1,500, or 1,900 hours. Attorneys at this firm select a career track based on their current commitments to family or personal goals. Their compensation is adjusted according to their hours, and they remain on track for partnership.
Middle-market firms are also offering flexibility in the type of hours attorneys are permitted to bill. Practices allowing pro-bono hours and diversity and inclusion initiatives to count towards an annual hours requirement give lawyers the freedom to work toward achieving their personal and professional goals.
Middle-Market Firms Help Attorneys Achieve Career Advancement
In certain firms, the path forward is clearer than in others. For senior associates, the thought of billing 3,000 hours and not having a shot at advancing within the firm can be a key reason to look elsewhere. In the past, firms kept senior associates in their seats by dangling potential partnership like a far-off carrot. With today’s demand for talent, however, associates are more comfortable broaching in-depth discussions detailing their realistic chances at partnership.
Understandably, attorneys want to know if they are signing on for careers or simply high-paying jobs. While certain firms offer top dollar, they only offer their attorneys jobs - not long-term careers. Many middle-market firms are able to attract attorneys by offering security and clear career paths. In the current market, we have placed many attorneys at middle-market firms which have offered promotions to counsel and partnership.
Some attorneys are drawn to middle-market firms offering career advancement through a clear path to equity partner. A firm’s willingness to make new equity partners shows its long-term commitment to their careers. Being an equity partner provides job security, a voice in the practice and a share of the profits. Because firms often have significantly greater business generation expectations from these attorneys, a clearly defined path to equity partnership, including a ramp-up period of lighter pressure to produce, can be highly appealing to these recruits.
Some middle-market firms are helping new partners integrate into the firm with an interim period of guaranteed compensation, eligibility for bonuses and no major capital investments. This period allows new attorneys time to decide whether or not they want to make a long-term commitment. During this time, they become acquainted with their partners, learn the firm’s processes and introduce their clients to the practice.
Middle-Market Firms Support Attorneys Who Want To Build a Practice
Firms offering the very top salaries often want their attorneys to handle the choicest work at the highest billable rates. Unfortunately, this usually means attorneys have to forego hopes of developing their own practices. Typically, younger attorneys need a more entrepreneurial firm which offers billing rate flexibility in order to build a practice. Big Law firms tend to have less interest in their attorneys nurturing less-prestigious clients who pay lower rates and often come with billing write-offs.
For this reason, many attorneys are seeking opportunities focused on better training, mentorship, the chance to play more significant roles on smaller cases or transactions, support for cross-marketing and business development, and the ability to act as a counselor to clients. On billion-dollar mega-deals, each attorney typically only influences a sliver of the transaction. Smaller deals, such as $200 million M&A deals at middle-market firms, give attorneys the chance to add value to each transaction on which they work. Middle-market and smaller firms are recruiting these ambitious attorneys by offering them a more comprehensive range of responsibilities that allow them to be more impactful and achieve their full potential.
In today’s lateral market, factors such as achieving work/life balance, job security, broader experience, professional growth and opportunities for impactful work and to build a practice are all essential to today’s high-level talent. Middle-market firms are taking note and recruiting accordingly with notable success.