The coronavirus pandemic has given law firms an opportunity to demonstrate transparency and accountability from the top down, and Big Law associates feel their firms’ management teams have risen to the occasion.

Early-career attorneys are increasingly satisfied with the openness of firm leadership, how firms communicate about making the partnership, and the opportunity to build relationships with partners, according to The American Lawyer’s 2020 Midlevel Associates Survey. In the pandemic era, transparency in these areas has once again led associates to feel more satisfied with their firms overall than ever: The average composite satisfaction score for all 73 participating firms in 2020 was 4.32 on a five-point scale, an increase from last year’s average of 4.29.