How Law Firms Can Reinvent Talent Acquisition and Retention Strategies

9 minutes learn

Up to date Jul 8, 2025

The attrition fee at regulation companies within the US noticed a staggering 61% enhance in 2021 from its pre-pandemic degree, highlighting the deep affect of the Nice Resignation on authorized. Like workers in different industries, authorized professionals are beginning to shift their focus to what’s extra essential to them and whether or not their private {and professional} wants are being listened to, understood, and accommodated by their companies.

That is particularly essential now when attorneys have been spending extra time within the workplace than most different professions, nearly 53 hours per week on common. “The agency that’s going to optimize for the close to time period, concentrate on greater billable hour charges and better billable quantity goes to burn out expertise. Expertise goes to go away and stroll out,” says Sid Upadhyay, CEO and co-founder of WizeHire, an employment company specializing in authorized recruitment.

“One of the vital attention-grabbing traits that we’ve seen in response to the Nice Resignation within the authorized business is attorneys beginning their very own companies. Typically, they’re not even beginning the agency of their core focus space. It’s nearly a re-reflection of what they’ve actually wished to do,” he provides.

And no, not even monetary incentives are sufficient to stop them from quitting, in line with a 2022 report, the place even a 15% bump in wage and bonus wasn’t sufficient to cease turnover. The necessity for change is clear, however how can regulation companies win worker belief when the latter has extra leverage to barter an employment primarily based on their phrases.

If not monetary incentives, then what do authorized professionals need?

Ronald J. Coleman, Adjunct Professor of Legislation at Georgetown Legislation and Host of the Compliance & Authorized Threat podcast, says, “Monetary incentives are essential however they aren’t all the time sufficient to retain and entice expertise.” Prior to now, when an worker wished to go away the agency, generally it was fixable with a monetary incentive like a increase or a mid-year bonus. That mannequin has flipped in the course of the pandemic for a lot of causes together with rising burnout charges, motivating workers to lean in the direction of companies that provide an all-rounded growth.

Corporations want to grasp that the workforce’s wants have modified drastically, emphasizing well being care, psychological wellbeing, bodily well being, reskilling/upskilling, skilled development, and extra. Coleman factors out that workers are a key asset of regulation companies and that companies ought to concentrate on their individuals. “Legislation is a providers business and having a great set of workers is the spine of any good agency,” he says. Staff who’ve constructive experiences and really feel psychologically protected at work usually tend to be engaged, productive, and glad inside their position.

Rethinking the normal regulation agency mannequin

It’s additionally important for companies to steadiness empathy-driven efforts with an openness to experiment and innovate. “Proper now, it’s actually enticing for authorized professionals to be launched to a agency with a special taste on the normal regulation agency enterprise mannequin,” says Debbie Foster, Legislation Agency Administration Marketing consultant at Affinity Consulting Group.

Traditionally, regulation companies operated primarily based on what labored for the agency—how observe teams functioned, how busy the staff was, what number of billable hours have been recorded, how a lot income consumer engagements generated and many others. “Earlier, a lawyer’s model of regular was going to the workplace on daily basis, billing 1800 hours a 12 months—you typically felt such as you have been a part of a grind,” Foster says.

And this pertains to the necessity to develop into extra savvy with how legaltech instruments are used to get work accomplished. As extra authorized professionals and companies develop into snug utilizing cloud-based options, and authorized AI, for instance, they’re realizing that they will spend much less hours doing extra, with out sacrificing productiveness and profitability.

In accordance our newest Authorized Traits Report, AI has reached the extent of adoption the cloud took a decade to acquire, with 79% of attorneys now utilizing AI every day—up from simply 19% in 2023. This fast shift underscores the rising demand for authorized tech that helps companies do extra with much less, whereas supporting higher work-life steadiness for attorneys.

“You don’t need to work 80 hours every week to invoice 50 hours. Set a practical aim for your self, make a plan in your week, concentrate on working effectively and leveraging expertise, and that intentional method will convey you extra steadiness,” Foster notes.

The workforce is demanding (and receiving) greater compensation, however what in addition they need is flexibility, a way of worth, higher working instruments, and an inclusive tradition. Conventional regulation companies should compete towards all these parts and performance as a enterprise mannequin. This implies turning into snug with distant work and trusting workers to handle their time. Foster says, “Simply since you’re within the workplace doesn’t imply you’re working. Legislation companies want to consider what it means to be accountable and self-accountable and separate that from bodily being within the workplace.”

Understandably, companies will probably be hesitant to make the change for causes just like the concern of the unknown or reluctance from employees to study tech-based instruments to speak and collaborate. However they threat dropping current and future expertise with out taking proactive measures to evolve. “Expertise is prone to transfer to companies which can be providing better flexibility. These sorts of companies are going to have a aggressive benefit over ones that don’t,” Coleman says.

What’s enticing to the authorized workforce proper now?

In the identical vein, Coleman proposes serving to workers see the worth of their particular person contributions to the joint effort of representing shoppers. “Authorized professionals are sometimes keen to work lengthy hours in the event that they really feel like they’re a part of the method versus a cog within the wheel,” he notes.‍

‍Legislation companies are infamous for glorifying lengthy hours. In lots of instances, it outcomes from reliance on outdated, cumbersome processes like retyping information, and discovering info on paper saved inside recordsdata and cupboards, all resulting in stress and burnout. It’s probably why many authorized professionals are beginning their very own companies, like Upadhyay talked about, carving individualized flexibility fashions whereas delivering high quality and worth to shoppers.

“It’s essential that regulation companies put people ready that aligns with their objective, worth system and offers them one thing to be enthusiastic about,” he mentions. When 76% of attorneys really feel like they’re overworked,  there’s little cause to stay with a agency, particularly for a younger technology of attorneys. What makes them stick at a agency are elements like nice expertise, collaboration, fast contribution, mentorship and a perception in doing properly.

Constant lengthy hours and not using a strong plan to advertise worker work-life steadiness can result in low engagement, cynicism towards the group, and diminished productiveness. Finally, this impacts the standard of labor and consumer expertise on the agency.

Is lack of expertise in regulation companies dangerous?

A strong plan for change for any business is incomplete with out incorporating expertise in a remote-preferred office. Outdated expertise or no expertise is unproductive for workers and shoppers, and hurts profitability at your agency.

In one survey, 66% of attorneys talked about feeling an excessive amount of stress to finish duties on time, and 33% admitted to skipping proofreading paperwork when creating or reviewing authorized paperwork. “Reviewing 1000’s of paperwork for one thing comparatively easy, like a person particular person’s title, is probably going much less thrilling for attorneys and probably inefficient for shoppers. There could also be instances when attorneys have to put eyes on 1000’s of paperwork, but when expertise might reduce the 1000’s all the way down to fifty, that would assist each attorneys and shoppers,” says Coleman. “Equally, instruments that may ethically automate routine authorized duties can also positively affect lawyer high quality of life and assist management the consumer invoice,” he provides.

The excellent news is that the majority companies are realizing that and transferring quick to maintain tempo with the rising tech modifications. For instance, one agency diminished 75% of time spent on drafting authorized paperwork with doc automation and cloud-based fillable courtroom kinds and reported improved effectivity and morale. “If you’re utilizing the fitting instrument for the fitting job, it might probably completely make you extra environment friendly and aid you ship higher providers to your consumer. It’s a win-win throughout the board,” Foster says.

Nonetheless, she warns that companies that shrink back from making the change threat dropping expertise as a result of one other agency will provide them no matter their agency is lacking—good tradition, objective, environment friendly instruments, distant work flexibility, and many others. Upadhyay agrees, “Candidates are discovering companies the place they will thrive in a distant setting. Organizations that don’t take this second in time to replicate on their work type could also be setting their group up for challenges and an absence of success, particularly with new hires.”

Suggestions and recommendation to get your agency began‍

As economies attempt to discover their steadiness in an evolving panorama, regulation companies will probably be beneath vital stress to suppose and act in methods a lot completely different than earlier than. Expertise will play a vital position in serving to them discover their steadiness. These which can be fast to adapt will personal a tradition the place workers wish to stay part of the expansion and thrive moderately than escape for greener pastures. Listed below are some suggestions from Coleman, Foster, and Upadhyay that may aid you navigate by your expertise retention and attraction technique:

Some extent of in-person interplay is significant: Create in-person alternatives for mentorship and coaching of younger attorneys and create platforms for them to attach and ask questions from mentors and agency leaders.
Transparency and authenticity are enticing: Be extra specific about your agency’s flexibility choices, wage, advantages, and many others., and set a simple tone proper from the beginning. Analysis means that candidates choose out of hiring processes after they expertise much less transparency.
Create a remote-friendly onboarding plan: Make sure that your onboarding plan supplies key sources and belongings that distant workers might want to succeed. Accumulate suggestions on the method and make modifications as you go. You may as well assessment what others within the business are doing to onboard expertise just about.
Implement expertise that your staff will use: Carry your employees into the analysis and analysis course of earlier than introducing tech options. Perceive their ache factors, ease of software program use, and implementation, to maximise acceptance.
Don’t be part of a agency solely primarily based on cash: Or who you understand to be extra prestigious. Decide a task that you just discover attention-grabbing, the place you may get the perfect coaching, and a staff that makes communication and collaboration simpler.
Supply flexibility: Outline your stand on distant flexibility and put it up for sale. Nearly all of workers wish to work at companies exhibiting indicators of modernization and have processes to accommodate distant employees and shoppers.