In an era of ever-flighty associates, some firms are finding that the best way to avoid an empty nest is to provide in-house career counseling. Associates, firms say, just need someone to talk to.

While most firms have forms of professional development, few have embraced the idea of a formal, permanent, in-house career counselor. The position, say firm development managers, offers associates a neutral and confidential third party to go to with questions: How do I stay on track to make partner? How do I better build my practice? How can I switch practices? How do I get out of here?

Though in-house counseling positions are meant to keep attorneys on board, sometimes they help associates who want to leave the firm, said Jessica Natkin, career counselor for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Natkin, who was Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati's first career guidance manager for three years before moving to Orrick a year ago, said it's about maintaining a relationship past the period of employment.

"Some people will leave whether they talk to me or not," she said. "So I try to help them to figure out what they want to do so they leave as a friend of the firm."

Diane Downs, firmwide manager of attorney development for Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, said that when an attorney leaves the firm to work for a client or in the public sector, they're practically still in the firm.

"We see that as kind of retaining our talent in a different way, in a different capacity," she said.

If an associate leaves a firm on good terms -- and, in fact, received help from the firm to do so -- it can foster future business from the associate, said Matthew Feuer, a consultant at McClure & Feuer in San Francisco.

"I think it's a fascinating idea, in part because law firms today ... have been trying to cement relationships with companies, and what better way to cement that relationship than with somebody who has worked with your firm?" he said.

Despite being financially successful, firm lawyers are not always well-equipped to make the most of their careers, said Downs. Lawyers are sometimes resistant to seeking help, and when they do ask, they need to be more patient, she said.

"You have to come at it a little sideways for attorneys, and that's OK," she said. "I think that they have to understand that you're going to provide value and that it's an investment."

Career counselors are "really the associates' advocate," said Chris Boyd, senior director of professional services at Wilson Sonsini.

While the brunt of their work tends to be career advancement advice -- how to become partner, how to build a better practice, etc. -- counselors also help associates in tough situations. An associate who decides he or she no longer enjoys his or her practice can turn to career counselors who promise confidentiality for advice.

"If, for whatever reason, their individual group or practice area is not working out ... we'd rather keep them here in another practice area than have them leave the firm," Boyd said. Coming forward and telling your advising partner that you're no longer interested in their practice area isn't exactly easy, he said.

Natkin -- one of two career counselors at Orrick, which also has one for the East Coast -- says associates often turn to her because they don't know who else to ask.

"I can ask dumb questions for the associates," she said, "which I love to do."