SUCCESSFUL LAWYER RETENTION THROUGH MENTORING©

It’s no secret that traditional business environments, including most law firms, are not places where women thrive. At the same time, women owned businesses are the fastest growing segment of the economy. Thus, women are thriving in business, just not in traditional business settings.

Many studies exist to substantiate this trend, and to identify the reasons for it. Life balance issues are often the single most significant issue for women. That doesn’t mean life balance isn’t an important issue for men, but women are more likely to quit their jobs over it than men are. (Our February 1999 Newsletter dealt with Life Balance. Call us or e-mail us if you’d like another copy: info@peoplewealth.com

Our interviews with women lawyers reflect that women leave their jobs due to other factors once the life balance issue is addressed. Chief among them is the perceived lack of access to firm leaders. Women often have the view that a strong mentor is necessary to help them achieve advancement in their firms. Women perceive that men are groomed for leadership positions by older, male partners. Women feel that they are not given access to clients in the same way that their male counterparts are. Women also feel that men are groomed to take over rainmaking roles in a way that women are not.

Women perceive that their contributions to the firm are not valued in the same way that the firm values the contributions of their male counterparts. Women also believe that the way they want to practice law is not acceptable to their firms. These factors, women feel, make it too difficult to break through the glass ceiling and not worth the effort. As one 15 year lawyer put it, "I’m tired of being the only woman in the room–still." That these perceptions are disputed or viewed as unimportant by male lawyers is considered by women to be part of the problem. Our informal results were echoed and expanded by the Catalyst Guide, Advancing Women in Business, published by Jossey-Bass in 1998. The Catalyst conclusion, and ours, is that retaining women in law firms is a challenge that must be met head on by practices and lawyers themselves, in a pro-active way. Absent such programs, over twenty years of experience has shown that women will continue to flee traditional law practice in favor of forums where they can excel.

An innovative program for retaining women professionals (lawyers, accountants and consultants) that we’ve recently come across is the "National Office for Retention" of Ernst & Young, one of the giant "Big 5" international accounting and consulting firms that employs over 3,900 lawyers. The best attributes of this program, and others like it being instituted in the most successful businesses, include (1) a Director of Retention, who reports directly to the Chairman, has a staff of 8 people and has the full benefit of firm resources; and (2) events designed to share information about career enhancement, address the life balance needs of women and men, and strengthen engagement or affiliation with the firm. After two years of this program, E&Y has increased its retention of women by 4%. In other words, more than twice the rate of increase in firm partnership reported by The National Law Journal’s top 250 law firms. Perhaps even more impressive is the program’s estimate that it has saved the firm over $21 million in attrition costs.

A successful mentoring relationship is one that serves the needs of both the firm and the individual. Often, a lawyer’s departure can be delayed or forestalled by consulting with a trusted lawyer who can provide a different point of view. For example, a male partner recently consulted us about leaving his firm. His rationale was that he could make more money if he continued to generate the same revenue because his costs would be lower. After discussing candidly the joys and sorrows of smaller firm practice, and the benefits to remaining in his current firm, he decided to stay at least a while longer. Women lawyers, also due to lack of mentoring, often have viewpoints that can be changed. A senior associate, offered a "counsel" position with her firm but not a "partnership," seriously considered leaving. After talking with us, and examining the benefits to accepting the "counsel" position, she decided to stay with her firm.

While many firms are not in a position to underwrite the costs of a firm wide retention effort, no firm can afford to ignore retention initiatives. PeopleWealth’s retention consulting services are available for firms who want to out source the program or need assistance in instituting an in-house program. Other resources, such as the Catalyst study, are available for firms who wish to create programs. An active mentoring program can make the difference between success and failure of all lawyers in every setting.

©PeopleWealth September 1999