Saturday, March 26, 2005
No more Golf Days, PUHLEZZ
Recent research indicates that clients can be resentful about your big corporate social events -- resenting their money being spent on these and resenting your demanding they give up family or personal time to attend. Sounds like the same complaints that associates have about these "command performances".
Next time your firm is planning one of these events, share the info in this article:
"If hospitality is turning your clients off, it needs to stop. Tradition is often a word associated with some firms’ events — each year, occasions that started off costing ‘not very much’ are now costing huge sums, yet partners feel they must be continued. Unless there is a proven business case for this spend, partners should listen.
So, firms must ask themselves what they aim to achieve through corporate hospitality. By establishing this and talking to clients about their preferences, marketing budgets can work harder. That way, clients are more satisfied that their fees are being channelled into useful activities that will be well attended and conducive to building stronger, longer lasting relationships. "
The full article appears in Legal Week Global Edition, 26 March 2005
Coporate Sweet?
Recent research indicates that clients can be resentful about your big corporate social events -- resenting their money being spent on these and resenting your demanding they give up family or personal time to attend. Sounds like the same complaints that associates have about these "command performances".
Next time your firm is planning one of these events, share the info in this article:
"If hospitality is turning your clients off, it needs to stop. Tradition is often a word associated with some firms’ events — each year, occasions that started off costing ‘not very much’ are now costing huge sums, yet partners feel they must be continued. Unless there is a proven business case for this spend, partners should listen.
So, firms must ask themselves what they aim to achieve through corporate hospitality. By establishing this and talking to clients about their preferences, marketing budgets can work harder. That way, clients are more satisfied that their fees are being channelled into useful activities that will be well attended and conducive to building stronger, longer lasting relationships. "
The full article appears in Legal Week Global Edition, 26 March 2005
Coporate Sweet?
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Building the Business Case for Flexibility
In-depth research of Canadian law firms shows that work-life balance is now an issue for both male and female lawyers,and no longer a concernfor women only.
A new study released today by Catalyst Canada presents a strong business case for flexibility in law firms. The study, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Building the Business Case for Flexibility, demonstrates that losing legal talent because work-life balance issues in firms are not being addressed can cost millions of dollars a year. Based on a survey of more than 1,400 lawyers across the country, the study also reports on the challenges and perceptions of work-life balance within Canadian law firms.
In the study, which was sponsored by 10 leading Canadian law firms, Catalyst analyzed the work-life balance perceptions and challenges faced by law firm associates and then calculated the financial impact of losing top legal talent using standard cost accounting methods.
Among the report’s key findings:
* Women and men report the same top factors as important in choosing to work at another firm: an environment more supportive of family and personal commitments and more control over work schedules.
* 84 percent of women and 66 percent of men rated “an environment supportive of my family and personal commitments” as an important factor in choosing to work at another firm.
* Despite the range of factors offered in the Catalyst survey—from increased compensation to pursuing more intellectually challenging work—more men and women associates, both junior and senior, cite work-life balance factors as important in choosing to work at another firm than other factors.
* A majority of women (66 percent) and more than one-half of men associates (54 percent) indicate that the possibility of working fewer hours would be important in choosing to work at another firm.
* Associates with positive perceptions of their firms’ work-life culture intend to stay with their firms for a longer period of time.
“Longer working hours and unpredictable work schedules can all add up to less flexibility, less personal or family time and ultimately more stress. Without a more supportive work environment those longer hours and lack of flexibility can also mean that both men and women are facing increasingly difficult choices about how to allocate work and personal time,” said Catalyst Canada President Susan Black, Ph.D.
The Catalyst Canada research shows that the average total cost to a firm of an associate’s departure is $315,000, which is approximately twice the average associate’s salary.
“In addition to the high cost to individuals and families, there is also a significant business cost when work-life balance issues are not addressed,” said Dr. Black. “A firm invests a great deal of its capital in recruiting and developing associates. Calculating the impact of turnover is the first step in enabling law firms to grasp the business impact of the issue of work-life balance. A well-designed retention strategy can help a firm maximize its return on this investment in talented associates.”
The report noted that an environment more supportive of family and personal commitments and more control over work schedules are at odds with typical retention strategies used by law firms: competitive compensation and the opportunity for advancement. While these more traditional factors continue to be important and were cited by one-third of the associates, they are losing ground as competitive weapons in the war for talent.
In work environments in which pay and advancement opportunities vary marginally between one firm and another, firms that support associates’ personal commitments and offer more control over their work may be more likely to retain top talent.
“This study demonstrates the need for firms to find creative and imaginative ways to create a professional environment that does not force associate lawyers to choose between family and career. The failure to create such an environment is not only perverse in moral and social terms, but, as this study shows, in economic terms as well,” said University of Toronto Law School Dean Ron Daniels.
catlystwomen.org
In-depth research of Canadian law firms shows that work-life balance is now an issue for both male and female lawyers,and no longer a concernfor women only.
A new study released today by Catalyst Canada presents a strong business case for flexibility in law firms. The study, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Building the Business Case for Flexibility, demonstrates that losing legal talent because work-life balance issues in firms are not being addressed can cost millions of dollars a year. Based on a survey of more than 1,400 lawyers across the country, the study also reports on the challenges and perceptions of work-life balance within Canadian law firms.
In the study, which was sponsored by 10 leading Canadian law firms, Catalyst analyzed the work-life balance perceptions and challenges faced by law firm associates and then calculated the financial impact of losing top legal talent using standard cost accounting methods.
Among the report’s key findings:
* Women and men report the same top factors as important in choosing to work at another firm: an environment more supportive of family and personal commitments and more control over work schedules.
* 84 percent of women and 66 percent of men rated “an environment supportive of my family and personal commitments” as an important factor in choosing to work at another firm.
* Despite the range of factors offered in the Catalyst survey—from increased compensation to pursuing more intellectually challenging work—more men and women associates, both junior and senior, cite work-life balance factors as important in choosing to work at another firm than other factors.
* A majority of women (66 percent) and more than one-half of men associates (54 percent) indicate that the possibility of working fewer hours would be important in choosing to work at another firm.
* Associates with positive perceptions of their firms’ work-life culture intend to stay with their firms for a longer period of time.
“Longer working hours and unpredictable work schedules can all add up to less flexibility, less personal or family time and ultimately more stress. Without a more supportive work environment those longer hours and lack of flexibility can also mean that both men and women are facing increasingly difficult choices about how to allocate work and personal time,” said Catalyst Canada President Susan Black, Ph.D.
The Catalyst Canada research shows that the average total cost to a firm of an associate’s departure is $315,000, which is approximately twice the average associate’s salary.
“In addition to the high cost to individuals and families, there is also a significant business cost when work-life balance issues are not addressed,” said Dr. Black. “A firm invests a great deal of its capital in recruiting and developing associates. Calculating the impact of turnover is the first step in enabling law firms to grasp the business impact of the issue of work-life balance. A well-designed retention strategy can help a firm maximize its return on this investment in talented associates.”
The report noted that an environment more supportive of family and personal commitments and more control over work schedules are at odds with typical retention strategies used by law firms: competitive compensation and the opportunity for advancement. While these more traditional factors continue to be important and were cited by one-third of the associates, they are losing ground as competitive weapons in the war for talent.
In work environments in which pay and advancement opportunities vary marginally between one firm and another, firms that support associates’ personal commitments and offer more control over their work may be more likely to retain top talent.
“This study demonstrates the need for firms to find creative and imaginative ways to create a professional environment that does not force associate lawyers to choose between family and career. The failure to create such an environment is not only perverse in moral and social terms, but, as this study shows, in economic terms as well,” said University of Toronto Law School Dean Ron Daniels.
catlystwomen.org
What would you do if you left law...
Despite the long road to their profession, attorneys are not immune to occasional thoughts of making a career change. When surveyed recently about related occupations they would consider if they were to leave their current jobs, attorneys cited mediator (54 percent), law school professor or lecturer (49 percent) and nonprofit or
public interest legal services provider (41 percent) as desirable alternatives.
The survey was developed by Robert Half Legal, a leading staffing service specializing in attorneys, paralegals and other highly skilled legal professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 200 attorneys among the 1,000 largest law firms and corporations in the United States and Canada. All respondents had at least three years of experience in the legal field.
Asked, "If you were to quit your current job, which of these career alternatives would hold the most appeal?"
Attorneys responsed:*
Mediation or alternative dispute resolution counselor 54%
Law school professor or lecturer 49%
Nonprofit or public interest legal services provider 41%
Expert witness 20%
Patent expert 11%
Researcher 11%
Politician (specifically, district attorney or attorney general) 9%
Other 13%
*Respondents were allowed more than one answer.
Despite the long road to their profession, attorneys are not immune to occasional thoughts of making a career change. When surveyed recently about related occupations they would consider if they were to leave their current jobs, attorneys cited mediator (54 percent), law school professor or lecturer (49 percent) and nonprofit or
public interest legal services provider (41 percent) as desirable alternatives.
The survey was developed by Robert Half Legal, a leading staffing service specializing in attorneys, paralegals and other highly skilled legal professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 200 attorneys among the 1,000 largest law firms and corporations in the United States and Canada. All respondents had at least three years of experience in the legal field.
Asked, "If you were to quit your current job, which of these career alternatives would hold the most appeal?"
Attorneys responsed:*
Mediation or alternative dispute resolution counselor 54%
Law school professor or lecturer 49%
Nonprofit or public interest legal services provider 41%
Expert witness 20%
Patent expert 11%
Researcher 11%
Politician (specifically, district attorney or attorney general) 9%
Other 13%
*Respondents were allowed more than one answer.
