RESEARCH
During the height of the 2021/2022 recruiting craze, firms were focused on attracting talent and growing their firms. Now, however, as the market has slowed and returned to more of a pre-pandemic pace, retention of top talent has become the priority, especially as firms continue to evaluate post-pandemic policies.
Hiring and onboarding take an incredible amount of time and resources, and although not every hire is going to be a long-term success, there are many who will or should be. We routinely hear from partners or recruiting managers that they are shocked and saddened to learn that their favorite associate is leaving and no one saw it coming. Sometimes these moves are unavoidable—for example, a geographic move or perhaps someone has specific career goals that can’t be achieved at the firm or even in the legal industry. But oftentimes, these moves are caused by factors that could have been addressed along the way. So, what is driving attorneys to move and how can firms ensure they are doing everything they can to keep those attorneys who they want to be there for the long haul?
Earlier this year, we sent out a survey to BigLaw associates across the United States. We received a few hundred responses from respondents who were geographically diversified. They majority of respondents also identified as first-generation lawyers, females, parents, attorneys of color and/or members of the LGBT+ community.