 CBABC surveys the costly problem of associate attrition in British Columbia
Research by Catalyst Canada has shown that it costs $315,000 in training and administrative costs every time an associate leaves a firm.1 As part of a series of articles concerning the challenge of effective associate attraction and retention, the CBABC recently conducted our own survey to uncover member perceptions on the issue...
What do you feel is the attrition rate of new associates in British Columbia in an average year?
At what point in their legal career do you feel new associates most often leave the profession?
Here’s one lawyer’s view on why new associates most often leave the profession:
“Expectations, particularly in private practice, are very challenging. Asking someone to meet billable targets of over 1650 plus develop a book of business requires the type of dedication that takes over almost all of your life. One day it hits you, yeah, you’re making a great salary, but by the time you pay for all the take out food you buy because you have no time to cook, pay for a cleaning lady because you have no time to keep your place tidy, pay rent or high mortgage for a downtown apartment because you need to be close to the office to work your mad hours, and you buy very expensive toys and holidays because “you deserve it” since it justifies your long hours, you really are not making that much more than someone else who has more time to cook their own meals, clean their own home, and doesn’t feel the compulsion to buy, buy, buy to make them feel better for not having much of a life.”
On a scale of 1 to 4, where 1 is very important, how important is this issue to your firm?
For more on what 115 lawyers had to say about the issue of associate retention, see the full survey results at www.cba.org/bc/cba_publications. This is an exclusive benefit available to CBA members only.
1Catalyst (2005), Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Building the Business Case for Flexibility.
Associate Attraction and Retention
Voices from around British Columbia
Law firms across the province face both shared and unique associate attraction and retention challenges. The CBABC conducted interviews with a variety of firms in order to examine these issues from a regional perspective.
Mid-Size Firm – B.C. Interior
Vancouver law firms tend to be most appealing to recent law school graduates because of their central location and competitive salaries, whereas firms in more remote areas tend to attract those native to the region or those with established “root” in the community. Firms in smaller communities are offering innovative associate compensation packages, studying trends on associate attrition/retention and are providing up-to-date information technology.
Solo Practitioner – Vancouver Island
Lawyers must have solid experience in diverse areas of law to be effective in a small town practice. Firms have to invest significant time and capital in new hires before they can be effective in this context. Retaining new associates can be difficult – once they develop a solid client base, there is little incentive, financial or otherwise, not to enter into private practice. On the “plus side,” in small communities there is less competition for partnership positions and lower expectations on new associates to work excessive hours or make unreasonable lifestyle compromises.
Large Firm – Two Offices – Vancouver and Suburbs
Firms with both “downtown” and “burb’s” addresses can find it difficult to draw young associates to their out-of-city address. New lawyers often prefer to be both working and living in an urban area and many eventually balk at a regular commute to an office in an outlying locale. However, these firms tend to have high retention rates with newly married associates working and living at their suburban addresses.
Public Interest Firm – Not-For-Profit
At public interest law firms, the consistently high level of interest in advertised posts seem to indicate that new lawyers find the prospect of practising in a not-for-profit setting appealing. Funding new posts is the only barrier to attraction of new associates. On the retention side, a large percentage of new hires remain with these organizations for the duration of their careers; a fact that has been attributed to the rewarding nature of the work, flexible hours, and positive working environment.
Small Firm – Vancouver
Consistently offering interesting and attractive work to new associates is a challenge facing small Vancouver based firms. New associates expect engaging work from the beginning of their careers and are seeking out firms that can provide it. To achieve a higher rate of retention, a significant amount of time is spent “babying” new associates and paying attention to their needs and concerns.
Large Firm – Vancouver
More than ever, new lawyers have a greater diversity in career options. These include working in in-house counsel positions and management opportunities in the business world. This puts pressure on large law firms to offer a flexible working environment and consistently pay attention to the needs and concerns of new associates.
Specialized Firm
Lawyers in specialized law firms find that the technical difficulty of certain areas of law makes it difficult to identify and attract prime associate candidates. They also battle a perception that as one’s specialist value increases, one’s general practitioner’s knowledge decreases.
There was a general consensus that the arduous demands of the profession, long hours and the desire to start families are all key reasons why associates seem to be leaving the profession of law.
This article was published in the August 2006 issue of BarTalk. © 2006 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved. |
