Back in the old days when law school cost very little and you could rent an apartment in Toronto for a reasonable amount, law firms hired newly qualified lawyers at modest salaries and gave them simple assignments. The firms also provided mentoring and training, so that the juniors could learn to do more challenging work. Firms neither made much money on the newbies, nor did they pay the newbies much. The pay-off came after a few years as the lawyers gained experience and could bill enough to earn their keep.
Eventually law schools, apartments and food became expensive, houses became completely unaffordable, young lawyers graduated with massive debt, and law firms paid the newcomers more money so that they could afford to live in the big city and report to work. The new imperative became that young lawyers had to become profitable more quickly, so billable hour targets were increased.
Around about the same time, loyalty between firms and their associates eroded, and with associates frequently departing after a few years, there was less certainty that mentoring and training the newcomers would pay off. So partners became less motivated to invest in the new generation.
Finally, firms decided that they were not profitable enough, and in order to avoid cutting the compensation pie into skimpy pieces, the waiting line for an invitation to equity partnership became longer.
So, now the ambitious young lawyers have to work harder than ever, but most of their money goes to law school debt and the increased cost of living. Many of them are not being properly mentored and trained. They fear never being able to afford a house. The holy grail of equity partnership is so far in the future that it does not serve as much of a motivator.
Since working hard is not going to satisfy their ambitions for many years to come, the young ones start thinking about things like work/life balance and mental health. It is one thing to sacrifice your health and relationships to build your professional career, make a pile of money, and accumulate some material trappings. It is quite another to make that sacrifice to keep pushing the rock up the hill with no sign that you will ever get to the top. And some of them opt out. They take themselves off the partnership track, go in-house, start their own firms, or get out of law entirely.
The reaction of law firm management? They lament that, “the young folks are not willing to work as hard as we did or make the sacrifices that we did.”
Artificial intelligence arrives on the scene. Eventually it will take over many of the tasks that the young, highly paid, under-productive, improperly trained and mentored, and unhappy early-year associates are doing.
Law firm management knows that the system is breaking down, but they don’t know how to fix it.
A tweak is not going to fix the system. We need to completely rethink it.
This article was originally published by Law360 Canada, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.