Law.com
  • News
    • Newswire
    • Supreme Court
    • International
    • Legal Blog Watch
    • The Hot Seat
    • Video
  • Publications
    • The American Lawyer
    • Corporate Counsel
    • Law Technology News
    • The National Law Journal
    • New York Law Journal
    • New Jersey Law Journal
    • Connecticut Law Tribune
    • The Legal Intelligencer (PA)
    • Daily Business Review (FL)
    • Delaware Law Weekly
    • Daily Report (GA)
    • The Recorder (CA)
    • Texas Lawyer
    • Publication E-Alerts
    • More Publication Sites
  • Legal Research & Directories
    • Books Online
    • Smart Litigator
    • ALM Experts
    • Verdict Search
    • Court Reporters
    • Legal Dictionary
    • LegalTech® Directory
    • Newsletters
    • More Directories
  • Surveys, Lists & Rankings
    • Amlaw 100
    • NLJ 250
    • Global 100
    • The A-List
    • ALM Legal Intelligence
    • Surveys
    • Top Rated Lawyers
    • More Lists & Rankings
  • Special Reports
  • lawjobs.com
  • LawCatalog Store
  • CLE & Events
    • CLE Center
    • ALM Events
    • LegalTech
    • Virtual LegalTech
    • Insight Legal Events
    • Webinars
Home
 
Article
Twitter LinkedIn RSS
Sign Up for Newsletters

Law.com Home > For Midlevel Associates, a Year to Forget

Font Size: increase font decrease font

For Midlevel Associates, a Year to Forget

Annual survey shows morale plunged as midlevels worried about whether they'd be the next to go, or whether they'd have any work to do if they stayed

By Rachel Breitman All Articles 

The American Lawyer

July 31, 2009

  •    
  •    
  •    
  •      
 


Stock Illustration RF, Getty Images

Related Items

  • Updated Special Report: Crisis on Wall Street

It may sound like a tall tale, but not too long ago many Am Law 200 firms were worried about associate attrition. Billables were also a source of anxiety for many associates.

In the war for talent, partners wooed law students, junior associates were paid lavishly and the best and the brightest among the senior associates were shown the bread crumbs to the partnership. Today's midlevel associates, the third-, fourth- and fifth-years, remember those days all too well. Now, as thousands have been laid off, and the survivors' bonuses, salaries and basic perks -- such as a stipend for their BlackBerrys -- have been cut, the associates left behind are anxious and frustrated.

As one midlevel lawyer at Katten Muchin Rosenman (which has laid off more than 40 lawyers in the last 12 months) puts it, firms "should value [their] associates on what they have done, can do, and likely will do again -- not based solely on what they have done for you in the last 12 or, heaven forbid, three months."

Our 2009 annual survey of midlevels found that across the country, associates shared these concerns. We asked approximately 80 questions, including our standard queries about billable hours and the path to partnership, but what stood out from the 6,101 respondents was their unhappiness. Associate morale plummeted to the lowest level in five years (since we started asking about it). It fell from a rating of 3.1 last year, on a scale of 1 to 5, to 2.7. The drop is clearly related to job insecurity. Eighty-three percent of our respondents reported medium or high anxiety about losing their jobs. The midlevels had good reason to be concerned. Sixty-one percent said that their firms had layoffs. And, for those who kept their jobs, there wasn't enough to do. As early as last year, one-third of associates saw a drop-off in their workload, and this year 46 percent said it had decreased.

Many survey respondents were also disappointed with their firms' pay cuts, reduced or nonexistent bonuses and decreased benefits. They were also troubled by what they saw as a lack of transparency on financial issues and layoffs. White & Case's layoff "decisions were unclear to most associates," said one midlevel associate. (The firm slashed 270 associate jobs in the last year and had the lowest score for associate satisfaction on our survey.)

In contrast, being candid about finances and layoffs and putting associates' welfare first helped some firms climb in our rankings. Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease rose in our overall survey ranks from 156th to seventh this year -- the biggest jump of any firm -- by freezing legal fees without freezing associate pay, even though partners saw a 4.5 percent drop in their profits. As a result, the Columbus firm rose from 151st to second on the question of whether associates expect they will be at the firm in two years, and from 81st to second on associate morale. (Vorys says it hasn't had any economic-related layoffs.) "There's certainly an effect on the bottom line when we don't raise our rates," says managing partner Russell Gertmenian. "But we haven't chosen to cut associate pay to make that money back."

Continue reading

  • 1
  • 2

Next



Subscribe to The American Lawyer

You must be signed in to comment on an article

Find similar content

Firms mentioned

    
  • Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
  • Cahill Gordon & Reindel
  • DLA Piper
  • Foley Hoag
  • Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
  • Katten Muchin Rosenman
  • Perkins Coie
  • Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
  • Ropes & Gray
  • Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
  • Thompson Hine
  • Vinson & Elkins
  • Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease
  • Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
  • Weil, Gotshal & Manges
  • White & Case
  • Bracewell & Giuliani
  • Greenberg Traurig
  • Reed Smith
  • Schiff Hardin

Companies, agencies mentioned

    
  • Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson
  • Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft
  • Nutter McClennen & Fish
  • Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz
  • Schering-Plough
  • Merck & Co. Inc.
  • Centex Corp.
  • Pulte Homes Inc.
  • Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Vinson & Elkins
  • Perkins Coie and Weil, Gotshal & Manges
  • Starbucks

Key categories

    
  • Law Firm Profitability
  • Law Firm Management
  • Law Firm Associates

Most viewed stories

    
  1. Proskauer, Former CFO Settle Bias Suit
    •      
  2. Budget Plan Contains Funds to Reassign 26,000 18-B Cases
    •      
  3. The 2013 Am Law 100
    •      
  4. Judge Strikes Law Banning Demonstrations at Supreme Court
    •      
  5. Largest State Poised to Require Practical Skills Training
    •      
lawjobs.com

TOP JOBS

MORE JOBS

POST A JOB

From the Law.com Network

Corporate Cyberattacks Come Out of the Shadows

Minority-Owned Firm Makes Microsoft's Premier List

Proskauer, Former CFO Settle Bias Suit

Global Firms Cope With Istanbul Unrest

D.C. Circuit Nominations a Defining Moment

D.C. Circuit Nominees Widely Respected Within the Bar

iPad Competition Heats Up

Discovery on Discovery Demands Cost-Shifting

The Recorder 25: California Golden Again for Many Firms
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Capital Accounts: Judicial Branch's Brothers Don't See Eye to Eye
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Miami Photographer Sues Pop Star Justin Bieber
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Jeremy Alters Settles With Argentinian Firm For $1 Million
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Court Sets Down Procedure for Discovery in Child Porn Cases
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Fixes Urged for Jury Questions in Complex Medical Malpractice Suits

The Affordable State-Specific Practice Solution
Available in NY, NJ, PA and CT editions - research, draft and prepare even the most complex cases with ease.

NYLJ 100

Circuit Orders Return of Child to Singapore
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Pa. Justices Uphold Mandatory Judicial Retirement

Senate Mulling Bill Aimed at Redefining Child Abuse

Sorry, Charlie, Your Wife Won't Support You

Top Reasons to Take Your Husband's Name

DA Rosemary Lehmberg Faces Second Removal Suit
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Court Upholds Disqualification of Bickel & Brewer
  •      
    • Subscription Required

'Gideon's Army' Rallies Its Troops For Justice

Kia Case To Put New Open Records Act To Test
  •      
    • Subscription Required

Chimp Attack Victim Is Denied $150M State Lawsuit

Auto Body Case May Lead To CUTPA Reassessment
  •      
    • Subscription Required

  • About |
  • ALM Properties |
  • ALM Reprints |
  • Customer Support |
  • Privacy Policy (updated 6/14/13) |
  • Terms & Conditions |
  • ALM User License Agreement
ALM Media