Partnership crisis: Gen Z doesn’t want to follow the traditional legal career pathway

Only 25 per cent of legal associates want to make partner at their firm in the next five years, as law firms scramble around to create career paths that sit outside the traditional route.

The poor work-life balance is putting the new generation of associates off partnership, according to a new survey by LexisNexis.

Stuart Greenhill, senior director of segment strategy at LexisNexis stated that “the current generation of workers are disruptors, not conformers. If they see something they don’t like, they’ll push back.”

The associates find the partners that they observed and work under “workaholic lifestyles” off-putting. The data stated that 71 per cent consider a better work-life balance as an incentive to move. However, this figure drops to 36 per cent on an incentive to stay.

While 69 per cent of the associates surveyed, quote a higher salary as an incentive to move, while this figure rises slightly to 70 per cent on an incentive to stay. One solicitor told LexisNexis that junior lawyers simply follow the dollar.

The main highlight of the survey is the fact that only 25 per cent want to be made a partner within the next five years. This seems to not be a huge surprise to leaders as the same survey quoted 63 per cent of leaders from large law firm believe associates are less interested in making partner.

Deborah Finkler, managing partner at magic circle firm Slaughter and May, is quoted to have said “becoming a partner at a law firm requires a huge amount of work and commitment, and always has.”

“This generation of associates are just more realistic about the likelihood of becoming a partner at their firm, and do not feel they need to pretend that staying and becoming a partner is their only option,” she added.

While Moira Slape, chief people officer at Travers Smith told the survey that “the attractiveness of becoming a partner has lessened.” She thinks the mindset has shifted in the last five years during and after the pandemic.

“Generational shifts have driven changes in what younger professionals are seeking from their employer,” she explained.

James Knight, CEO of of listed-law firm Keystone Law said that most junior lawyers start their careers with ambitious intent, but become disillusioned when they see what life in the top jobs really look like.

“This demonstrates a systemic crisis in the profession that goes beyond financial considerations,” he added. James Knight , CEO of Keystone Law

According to senior leaders, most (71 per cent) of associates quote work-life balance as a reason why they are not interested in becoming a partner. This is then followed by 42 per cent who quote financial risks and 39 per cent who want to avoid the stress.

The new generation of legal associates may not want to join a law firm’s partnership, but the majority of associates (75 per cent) are content staying in private practice, and more than half (58 per cent) plan to stay at their current firm.

Only four per cent of associates told the survey that they planned to move in-house in the next five years.

The negative stigma attached to admitting you don’t want to become a partner has changed in the last decade, says John Joyce, the outgoing managing partner at Addleshaw Goddard.

“A decade ago, if you admitted you didn’t want to become a partner, you would be creating an image of yourself as lacking in ambition,” he added.

But what does this mean for the future of the legal model?

Currently, the majority of law firms are structured so that a partner buys into a firm and generates revenue in exchange for a share of ownership and profits.

Joyce said he’s noticed a growing number of career opportunities available to associates.

It is becoming more common at leading law firms to create bespoke career paths that go beyond the traditional confines of the partner track or allow high-performers to curate their own career paths.

One example of this is Howard Kennedy’s “legal director route”. A legal director at Howard Kennedy has a high level of responsibility, autonomy, and clout within the firm, they’re often in supervisorial positions, too. But while they don’t have a direct share in the firm’s profits, they also don’t have the financial responsibilities or business development obligations of a partner.

Craig Emden, the managing partner of Howard Kennedy wanted to encourage all the people at his firm to be aspirational and ambitious, even if their circumstances meant partnership wasn’t a possibility.

He explained that when “someone becomes a senior associate at our firm, their career path is either to become an equity partner or to become a legal director.”

Mark Smith, director of strategic markets at LexisNexis did note that “firms also run the risk of having a bulge of very expensive senior associates who don’t want to become partner.”

“If there are fewer people coming through, that’s not such a bad thing. You can keep the profits per equity partner tight. But the reality is, if a firm is going to grow, the whole pyramid needs to grow along with it,” he added.