It's a quick goodbye for many departing associates, new NALP Foundation report finds
Eighty-two percent of associates who left their law firms in 2023 did so within five years of hiring, a figure that is at "an all-time high," according to a report released Wednesday by the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education. (Image from Shutterstock)
Eighty-two percent of associates who left their law firms in 2023 did so within five years of hiring, a figure that is at “an all-time high,” according to a report released Wednesday by the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education.
Contributing to the high percentage was a surge in the rate of those leaving within four years, which reached 72%. The figures indicate “both earlier and higher departure levels,” Jennifer Mandery, vice president for research for the NALP Foundation, told the ABA Journal in an email.
The percentage who left within a year was down from 2021 peak levels, however, with variations by type of hire—5% for laterals and 1% for entry-level associates.
The figures are based on employment data provided by 128 Canadian and U.S. firms in 2023 for offices in their primary countries, according to select findings from the foundation’s Update on Associate Attrition report. Thirty-two percent of the responding firms had more than 500 lawyers.
Overall, the report found, participating firms hired 5,236 associates in 2023 and lost 3,875 associates in 2023. The number hired is 1,550 fewer associates than in 2022, while the number of departing associates decreased only slightly, with 193 fewer associates leaving than in 2022.
Women made up 52% of associate hires, while lawyers of color represented 34% of associate hires. Ten percent of 2023 associate hires were “boomerang associates” who returned to their firms after leaving, up from 5% in 2022.
The overall average attrition rate of 18% in 2023 was down from 20% in 2022. The 2023 attrition rate for male associates was 17%, while the rate for female associates was 19%. The difference was greater when comparing attrition rates for white associates (16%) and associates of color (24%).
Firms categorized 49% of associate departures as “unwanted” from the firm perspective in 2023, down from 60% in 2022 and a record high of 67% in 2021. The rate of “desired” associate departures, from the firm perspective, increased to 33%, compared to 17% in 2022. Firms classified 18% of the departures as “neutral,” according to Mandery.
Desired associate departures could be for poor performance or for other reasons, such as a need to reduce headcount.
The rate of desired departures was higher for lateral than entry-level hires, male lawyers than female lawyers, and lawyers of color than white lawyers.
The report is available for purchase here.
See also:
“Associate hiring and attrition remain above average in 2022, new NALP Foundation report says”
