Posted by Orin Kerr:
Are Young Associates Slackers, or Just Rational Actors?:
Last weeek, Law.com posted [1]this National Law Journal article on the
work ethic of law firm associates who are part of the the so-called
"Generation Y" -- those born in 1978 or later. The verdict? From the
perspective of today's law firm partners, associates from Generation Y
are "slackers" with "a flabby work ethic" who don't "take charge of
their career," lack "loyalty," aren't eager to do mindless work, and
"don't volunteer for committee or other firm work." The article
suggests everything from 9/11 to the dot.com bust as an explanation
for this alleged generational shift in attitudes.
Most of my knowledge of law firm life is second-hand, so my own take
on this is sheer speculation. But I wonder if the article is missing a
better explanation for the shift: law school graduates today
understand that law firms -- particularly large firms -- are
businesses. Law firms hire associates to make money, not for the
esprit de corps. Big firm partners want to maximize their profits, and
hiring lots of associates and making them bill lots of hours with
little hope of making partner is a way to do that. Partners who have
created this sort of environment are in an odd position to complain
that today's young associates lack loyalty and don't volunteer for
committee work. If I'm not mistaken, associates are just taking their
clues from partners and are viewing law firms as means to an end. Most
big-firm partners are looking to make lots of money; most big-firm
associates are looking to pay off some loans, get some experience, and
add a line to the resume before figuring out what they really want to
do with their lives. Associates in this position may indeed appear
lazy and insufficiently loyal to the partners, but that's just because
the associates are not planning on sticking around for the long haul.
But enough of my speculation. VC readers at law firms know a lot
more about these dyanamics than I do. I have opened up comments so we
can get the real scoop from our readers.
References
1. http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1109128246583
_______________________________________________
Volokh mailing list
[email protected]
http://highsorcery.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/volokh
