Lawyers, Fun & Money

LAWYERS, FUN & MONEY
By SAIRA RAO

December 31, 2006 -- The city's largest, most prestigious law firms are suffering from serious brain drain.

Young, Gen-X lawyers in their third to fifth year in the business are walking away from their $200,000-a-year positions in record numbers - at times without another job in view.

The reason? They are unhappy with their Blackberry lifestyle - being tethered to the job 24/7 and having to rush back to the office at a moment's notice when e-mail orders pop up on the ubiquitous PDA.

The exodus of law firm associates is unprecedented, according to the National Association of Law Placement, or NALP, which found that 37 percent of associates leave large firms within the first three years.

A whopping 77 percent of associates leave within five years, according to NALP's latest survey.

That is up sharply from recent years, and the resulting brain drain is wrecking havoc on law firms.

"There's a significant drain on your potential as a firm if you can't mitigate it," Mike, a partner at a 400-plus lawyer Big Apple firm, said of the young legal eagle exodus.

Mike, like many lawyers interviewed for this story, spoke only if neither they or their firm were identified, fearing client losses.

While increased attrition is a typical effect of a relatively healthy economy, Mike claimed, "It'd be a mistake to say it's all driven by the economics."

The big-firm brain drain is also giving partners a major case of agita - forcing them to do the yeoman grunt work usually assigned to associates. In addition, the firms are being forced to scramble to fill the mid-level talent void. Some are even doing the previously unheard of - hiring from second-tier law schools.

John, a fifth year associate at a prominent Wall Street firm, is, like many young lawyers, walking out the door. He is leaving for a coveted in-house position at an investment bank. "I'm just waiting for my bonus," the 31-year-old says.

In fact, the next major wave of legal brain drain will occur over the next few weeks as young lawyers jump ship after collecting their bonus checks.

"It's the mid-levels, the third through fifth years that are leaving, so you're losing people you've spent lots of money on training, and just as they start to run things, they leave, and firms become less profitable," Mike, the partner, adds.


John, the associate ready to leave, notices the effect of the mid-level brain drain at his own firm. Gone, he said, is the traditional pyramid of power, from the numerous first-year associates up to select first-year partners.

"It's gone from a pyramid to a strange hourglass shape," John says. "It's bizarre. Now you'll see deal teams with a partner and a first-year associate, with nobody in the middle."


"You should see the partners," John says. "They're doing the work of mid-levels to pick up the slack. And even though they make over $1 million, they never see their family. There's little reward in that for me."

Tagg Grant, 31, couldn't agree more. The self-described "recovering lawyer" removed himself from firm life last year, as a third-year corporate associate. "I didn't want to sleep on my office floor anymore or wonder if I had a change of underwear somewhere in my file cabinet."

That these Gen-Xers are choosing quality of life over a paycheck doesn't surprise Janelle Wilson, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota.

"Generation Xers don't measure success or happiness by traditional measures, namely occupational prestige, power and income," she notes. Eva Wisnik, a time-management expert, has been hired by some firms to help associates deal with the lack of free time.

For example, if the partner you are working for doesn't get in until 10, "then go to the gym first thing in the morning," she advises.

SAIRA RAO, a lawyer and writer, recently left a large city law firm. Her debut novel, "Chambermaid," will be published by Grove Press in July.

THIS BLOG POST TAKEN FROM THE NEW YORK POST.