“The Times They Are A-Changin’ ”: A Brief Glimpse at Today’s Lawyer and His/Her Role In Today’s Legal Staffing Model

As many of us know, the line between the reality of lawyering in the new millennium and its fictional representation on television and in books is very blurred. Perry Mason, the beloved Atticus Finch from “To Kill a Mockingbird,”¹ and films such as “Inherit the Wind”² depict the lawyers of yester year, who work all hours of the night to deliver justice to their forever grateful and thankful clients. More recently we have seen actors such as Tom Cruise burn the midnight oil as a young associate to climb his way up the law firm ladder in “The Firm.”³ These iconical figures are still often looked upon with much respect and fondness; however, as Bob Dylan aptly said: “The Times They Are A-Changin’.”⁴ Today many lawyers, both young and not so young alike, have broken free from the “yester year” model and have served as the impetus for major changes in today’s legal staffing model that are quite literally sweeping the globe.   

I. Yesterday’s Lawyer

Before we can begin to understand the changes that are currently taking place in the legal profession’s hiring and staffing model, we must also understand the traditional legal staffing model that has been utilized in law firms and legal departments for many, many years.

In law firms throughout the U.S. and abroad, the journey from associate to partner can take as many as ten years and require thousands of hours of work per year. In the 1970’s law firms generally demanded approximately 1,700 billable hours of work per year from lawyers. Recently, these same law firms began to demand much more. Some leading law firms expect attorneys to bill 2,300 hours or more of work per year. In order to accomplish this onerous task, associates and partners must work seventy to eighty hour weeks. These long weeks include staying at the office late into the night and on weekends, taking calls or messages on cell phones and mobile devices while spending time with friends and family, and dropping everything to jump into action when that ever important client beckons. Lawyers who wish to rise to the top of the heap in the traditional staffing model strive to stand out amongst other attorneys in the firm. In fact, a story was recently relayed to me regarding one such dedicated senior associate who was quickly approaching partnership. This senior associate, who we will call "Mary Work-Harder," was praised at a recent partners’ meeting because of her dedication and devotion to the firm. This praise was due to the fact that Mary Work-Harder flew out of state for her mother’s funeral on a Wednesday morning and immediately returned to work on Wednesday evening following the funeral and a four hour flight. This loyalty and dedication was very appreciated by the partnership; however, many of us find this definition of commitment to be shocking and outrageous.

Seeking to leave the grueling partnership track behind, many lawyers have left the private practice of law and embarked upon careers with in-house legal departments.  Seeking "greener pastures" these attorneys often believe that this transition will afford them the opportunity to work shorter hours, leave billable hours behind, and become more of a legal generalist as opposed to only specializing in one area of the law. While many attorneys find bliss after joining an in-house legal department, this career transition does not always provide the flexibility and work/life balance that lawyers are seeking. Attorneys who work in-house often report that they work very long hours much like their colleagues in law firms. Additionally, many in-house legal departments require their attorneys to bill and record how they spend their time each day. In a post Sarbanes-Oxley Act legal environment and in a sluggish national economy, many corporate counsels are scratching their heads and saying "What now?" and "Am I ever going to find the work/life balance I am seeking?"

Clearly, both law firm and in-house legal department cultures and staffing practices have led to a mass exodus from the traditional practice of law. Citing high attrition and low morale, leading law firms and legal departments have reassessed their staffing models and learned more about today’s lawyer and how to maximize profits while gaining employee loyalty and dedication.

II. Today’s Lawyer

You know today’s lawyer. She is at the coffee shop with Blackberry in hand and is forever driving her sport utility vehicle to and from soccer practice while chatting away on her cell phone to a major CEO in Hong Kong regarding an upcoming acquisition. The most interesting parts of this description are that
1) today’s lawyer is not eternally tied to her desk until the darkest hours of night and
2) today’s lawyer is committed to a combination of work/life balance and her legal career. While the former trait can be attributed to technological advances, the latter trait cannot.

The latter can only be attributed to the changing legal staffing model that allows lawyers to take their focus off of the partnership track or the ever enticing General Counsel position and design their own personally satisfying career path. Before joining Special Counsel, I practiced law at a very well respected firm and had little exposure to the world of contract attorneys and their role in the legal field. In fact, somewhere along the way I developed a much uninformed opinion that contract attorneys were those who could not find a job or who had less than impressive credentials. I was beyond wrong in this assumption and have seen innumerable attorney candidates enter our doors who not only look like a million dollars on paper but also delivered highly specialized and impressive legal services to our clients.

Meet today’s lawyer—the savvy practitioner who thrives on the flexibility of contract work and who offers law firms and legal departments exceptional work product for a fraction of the cost that is associated with the training and development of junior attorneys. You may be reading this and thinking: “You show me a top-notch attorney who doesn’t want to be a partner at an Am Law 50 firm, and I’ll show you a guy who talks to himself while he is alone in the elevator and cannot hold down a job.” You are not alone in your perception; however, it is time to learn more about today’s lawyer and how they can benefit you and your firm or legal department. 

The following case study is an excellent example of today’s lawyer in the temporary legal staffing industry. Sometime ago, Charles came to Special Counsel with a simple request: “Find me something I enjoy and that allows me to have the flexibility to live my life.” Charles, a Harvard educated lawyer, came to us with thirteen years of experience and expertise in mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other complex business transactions. In addition to an impressive educational background, Charles had served as General Counsel for a major corporation and prided himself on being an excellent negotiator and a hard working attorney. Charles had reached a point where he was ready to lessen his stressors but did not want to sacrifice working in a challenging environment. Needless to say, it was not long before Charles achieved his goal. 

Charles’ story is not unique. In fact, he is only one of many legal professionals who have sought temporary or contract attorney opportunities that allow them to achieve success outside the traditional practice of law. Flexibility is the key to attracting the best lawyers for your law firm or legal department. A recent issue of The American Lawyer magazine applauded the usage of temporary attorneys:

As recently as five years ago, white-shoe firms shunned temporary attorneys out of fear that they would reduce quality. Today they rely heavily on temporary and contract attorneys to meet short- and even mid-term fluctuations in demand. This leads to a much more flexible, productive, and
profitable talent mix.5 

Today’s lawyer seeks a staffing model that applauds pursuits that are not always tied to billable hours and rainmaking and many turn to staffing agencies for placement assistance. Partnering with a reputable staffing company provides today’s law firm or legal department the ability to find experienced talent at a cost that increases profits and improves client satisfaction.   

III. The “Win-Win” Solution

Many law firms and legal departments have discovered an affordable alternative to the traditional law firm staffing model by making temporary attorneys a part of their team. This partnership is a "win-win" solution for today’s lawyer who seeks more work/life balance and today’s law firm or legal department that seeks top-notch lawyers that maximize revenues and provide the highest quality legal services.

1. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1960.
2. Inherit the Wind. Dir. Stanley Kramer. Perf. Spencer Tracy, Frederic March and Gene Kelly. MGM, 1960.
3. The Firm. Dir. Sydney Pollack. Perf. Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Gene Hackman. Paramount Pictures, 1993.
4. Dylan, Bob. “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” The Times They Are A-Changin’. Columbia Studios, 1963.
5. Zeughauser, Peter D. “Recession Resistant.” The American Lawyer 1 May 2007: 69.