24/7 Work Atmosphere Makes Retaining Associates a Challenge, Hartford Law Firm Leaders Say
More clients want lawyers who are available 24/7, and the atmosphere is making it a challenge to retain associates.
That’s the conclusion of some law firm leaders in Hartford, Conn., who spoke to the Hartford Business Journal.
Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge wants to hire associates who are committed to staying with the law firm, according to the partner in charge of its Hartford office, Charles “Chuck” Welsh. Last year, the firm bucked the trend and beefed up its summer associate program, hiring six summers after hiring none the year before, the Am Law Daily reported last July.
“In the last 15 years or so, as associate salaries were skyrocketing, the younger generation has been more apt to move from job to job,” Welsh told the Hartford Business Journal. “If your asset is your people and they’re willing to leave, you have a real problem.”
Beverly Garofalo, managing partner of the Hartford office of Jackson Lewis, told the publication about late-night e-mails. “I’m seeing our clients are under pressure like I’ve never seen before,” she told the Business Journal. “I see them responding to e-mails at 1 in the morning and getting on planes. … They’re not asking us to do something they’re not doing themselves, which creates more pressure.”
