Yet, the lawyer hiring process
would be as familiar to today’s partner as it was to the partner who first
interviewed him or her 25 years ago. Anchored by the one-on-one interview and
an unwavering bias towards a cookie cutter educational pedigree, law firms make
million dollar hiring decisions using little or no analytics. This “we know it
when we see it” approach has contributed to astronomical attrition rates in
most law firms with For a typical senior partner in today’s law firm, the
changes that have occurred since law school are substantial. From the
commonplace miracle of global 24/7 connectivity to the emergence of offshore
e-discovery?the world has evolved with the legal industry in tow.
50 percent of new lawyers
departing after three to four years with their firm.1 Even worse, the
convergence of so many firms vying for the same top candidates produced a
salary scale?typically $160,000+ in major markets?that caused many clients to
question the value of having junior associates work on their matters.
Although a relatively simple
hiring model has enabled many law firms to become national or global
powerhouses and enriched their partners in the process, the competitive
landscape is changing dramatically. Until recently, there was a shortage of
sophisticated business lawyers relative to demand. For several decades, firms
with a solid base of corporate clients could prosper by adding lawyers as the
U.S. economy boomed and clients grappled with more regulation and legal
complexity. Between 1979 and 2008, the average size of the 250 largest law
firms grew over 500 percent (from 102 attorneys to 535).2 The average number of
offices also increased from 2.5 offices per firm to 10.2, with a sizeable
proportion now in foreign locations.
With so much sophisticated
capacity available at so many brand-named law firms, the general counsel of
major corporations have a surplus of options for their legal work. As a result,
law firms are now in the unfamiliar position of competing over market share.
One way to win market share?and possibly the only way?is to hire and develop
better talent.
Going forward, law firms must
employ more sophisticated and reliable hiring and development tools
commensurate with the challenge of making million dollar “talent” decisions.
Unfortunately, the current most popular hiring tool?the one-on-one
interview?ranks only slightly above a coin-toss as research reveals (see inset
chart). Simply hiring someone because of a shared favorite sports team works
just as well. With the profit difference between a mid-level A-player associate
and their C-player counterpart ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 per associate
each year, firms are putting themselves in a vulnerable position by persisting
with the one-on-one interview as their primary selection tool. So if you are
looking to hire a lawer visit Allindiayellowpage.com
to get complete information about layers in your area.