HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE ATTENDANCE? - Most lawyers are highly skilled in the art of persuasion—except, apparently, when it comes to persuading attorneys and staff to re-embrace the office. As Law.com’s Justin Henry reports, it’s been hard to set policies for in-office work at law firms where many lawyers have developed a preference for remote work. While many law firms are cutting back on their use of real estate, others say remote work is a temporary trend. “After two years of a pandemic, it’s hard to put the horse back in the barn on this issue,” Michael Schmidt, co-managing partner of the firm’s New York office, said. “The pandemic complicated things in the sense of—and this is what the challenge continues to be—getting people to realize the benefits of in-person culture and collaboration.”
BACK ON THE PARTNERSHIP PATH - The majority of young lawyers in 2023 might not have aspirations of becoming partners at their law firms. But, as Law.com’s Andrew Maloney report, even as partner paths got longer and firms saw “alarming” levels of young talent turnover in recent years, the number of associates who say they want to reach the brass ring of the legal profession has nearly doubled, according to new data. A recent report from Major, Lindsey & Africa and Above the Law on millennial lawyers’ perspectives found nearly 45% of associates said they would like to make partner at their firms, a “significant” shift from the last survey in 2021, when 23.5% said they would like to make partner, and the two surveys beforehand in 2017 and 2019, which saw the number decrease from about 34% to 31%.
