Associate Development ' A Singular Proposal

Law firms carry on a juggling act when it comes to associate development. Associates grumble that they receive insufficient training. They worry not only about their competence to deal with their current assignments, but whether they will have marketable skills for the future. Partners find this frustrating and bewildering. Their firms have large catalogs of courses, provided both in-house and externally at significant cost to the firm. What more can associates want?

What's more, associate starting salaries are rising again. Both partners and associates worry the other group has no commitment to them. Meanwhile, clients are asking why billing rates are rising so much faster than corporate budgets, or corporate salaries themselves.

Is there a way to break the cycle? Sure, but someone's got to have the courage to do something different. Here's one approach.

The 'Renaissance Associate'

Some far-seeing firm should establish a “Renaissance Associate” (RA) development program. This program will feature enhanced training for the first 2 years for selected associates. These associates will: 1) receive more hours of training and development; 2) be assigned to matters chosen by an oversight group to enhance and develop their skills; 3) work more closely with the partner-in-charge of a matter, attending client meetings, participating in strategy development, and taking part in other sophisticated training opportunities; and 4) receive in-depth partner review, commentary and feedback on documents they draft; and, in general, obtain more coaching and training by the firm's senior lawyers.

After 2 years, Renaissance Associates will be assigned to matters in the same manner as their peers. Their time in the program will not impact the timing for consideration for partnership. In fact, all things being equal, it should make them top contenders for partnership, because they will have received more focused development in their early years than their non-Renaissance peers.

Starting Out

It will, of course, cost more money to train this group. More partner time will be devoted to training. And, for the program to be effective, RAs will be replacing billable hours with training and development time. How will this be financed? RAs will accept lower salaries for those first 2 years.

I recognize this statement invites skepticism, even incredulity. Third year law students scrutinize half-penny differences in firms' starting salaries. Who believes they will accept, indeed volunteer for, a lower salary than that of their peers at the same firm?

At the outset, many associates will not. They will not be interested in this program. But a few special ones will be ' those with the judgment and maturity to make a long-term commitment to their development and to the profession.

Here's what it would take to create a RA program.

The organizing team

First, a small team should be organized to oversee the program, consisting of the director of attorney development, a member of the attorney development committee, and an attorney with an interest in mentoring or development. Once the program has been in place for 2 years, a RA alum should be on the team as well.

Since program participants will be chosen from among volunteers, the team should decide whether to establish selection criteria or make selection random. Since new associates have already been vetted before being made an offer, it is to be assumed they are all highly qualified for the program. Therefore, the standards will more likely reflect the firm's needs, if, for example, the firm wants to more quickly develop associates in certain practice areas; or according to their law school or home region, in order to promote recruiting efforts.

Creating development opportunities

The task force should identify or design formal and informal development opportunities incremental to those available to associates at large. They should recruit partners who will commit to: 1) including RAs in senior level matters; 2) providing them with focused and frequent feedback on work product; and 3) explaining their thinking behind a certain approach to a negotiation, a client meeting, and the like. This will assure RAs get the highest and best training the firm can provide.

The task force should keep a log of each Renaissance Associate's assignments and obtain feedback from the RA and the partner on the matter as to what the RA did in the course of the assignment, what benefits the RA received, and what improvements should be made for such assignments in the future. This information should be used to plot the next assignments to further the RA's development.

Some thought should be given to assigning RAs to matters outside their areas of specialization to give them a broader context in which to understand that specialty. For instance, a corporate Renaissance Associate could be assigned to work on an environmental litigation to enhance her understanding of issues that can arise in due diligence.

Another means would be to second an RA to a client's legal department for a defined period, to give him an in-depth understanding of how the business operates and how to work effectively with in-house counsel. This would be at no charge to the client, as it would be part of the RA's enhanced development opportunities. This would benefit the firm as well by enhancing firm knowledge of the client and their business.

(In-house maternity leaves are particularly amenable to secondment opportunities, as the starting date and duration are reasonably certain.)

The task force should challenge itself to be creative and take advantage of one-off opportunities. A Renaissance Associate specializing in estate planning might be assigned as a temporary law clerk to a probate court needing to reduce a backed-up caseload. An RA in environmental law could be added to a team of environmental consultants conducting a Phase I assessment in preparation for the sale of a manufacturing business. The general principle in every case would be to identify opportunities that will increase the Renaissance Associates' understanding of their fields and broaden their contextual framework.

Special opportunities for formal training should be identified as well. Renaissance Associates could be sent to a two-week intensive workshop on negotiation skills, or they could be enrolled in a mini- or executive-style MBA program.

Show Me the Money

The funding for this extra development is a matter of simple math. Assume a firm's starting salary is $125,000 and first year associates bill 2000 hours, on average. If Renaissance Associates receive 400 hours a year additional in training and development, reducing billable hours to 1,600, then an RA's starting salary would be $100,000.

The salary reduction will not cover all the costs of the Renaissance Associate program, to be sure. Salary is only one element of a firm's per associate cost; there will be extra administrative and partner time, as well. But there will be benefits to the firm beyond developing a cadre of superbly trained young lawyers. The program will be an effective recruitment tool, not only for the program itself, but as evidence of the firm's creativity, flexibility, and commitment to new associates. It would be a distinctive element to discuss with clients, as evidence of the quality of the firm's associates as well as the firm (and the RAs) shouldering more of the cost of associate training.

But what if associates who are not in the Renaissance Associates program complain about being excluded? That would be a lovely outcome. The firm could enroll all new associates in the program, reduce salaries commensurately, and be a leader in returning the profession to a saner way to develop and compensate young lawyers for the long term.

Anyone willing to try it?

Law firms carry on a juggling act when it comes to associate development. Associates grumble that they receive insufficient training. They worry not only about their competence to deal with their current assignments, but whether they will have marketable skills for the future. Partners find this frustrating and bewildering. Their firms have large catalogs of courses, provided both in-house and externally at significant cost to the firm. What more can associates want?

What's more, associate starting salaries are rising again. Both partners and associates worry the other group has no commitment to them. Meanwhile, clients are asking why billing rates are rising so much faster than corporate budgets, or corporate salaries themselves.

Is there a way to break the cycle? Sure, but someone's got to have the courage to do something different. Here's one approach.

The 'Renaissance Associate'

Some far-seeing firm should establish a “Renaissance Associate” (RA) development program. This program will feature enhanced training for the first 2 years for selected associates. These associates will: 1) receive more hours of training and development; 2) be assigned to matters chosen by an oversight group to enhance and develop their skills; 3) work more closely with the partner-in-charge of a matter, attending client meetings, participating in strategy development, and taking part in other sophisticated training opportunities; and 4) receive in-depth partner review, commentary and feedback on documents they draft; and, in general, obtain more coaching and training by the firm's senior lawyers.

After 2 years, Renaissance Associates will be assigned to matters in the same manner as their peers. Their time in the program will not impact the timing for consideration for partnership. In fact, all things being equal, it should make them top contenders for partnership, because they will have received more focused development in their early years than their non-Renaissance peers.

Starting Out

It will, of course, cost more money to train this group. More partner time will be devoted to training. And, for the program to be effective, RAs will be replacing billable hours with training and development time. How will this be financed? RAs will accept lower salaries for those first 2 years.

I recognize this statement invites skepticism, even incredulity. Third year law students scrutinize half-penny differences in firms' starting salaries. Who believes they will accept, indeed volunteer for, a lower salary than that of their peers at the same firm?

At the outset, many associates will not. They will not be interested in this program. But a few special ones will be ' those with the judgment and maturity to make a long-term commitment to their development and to the profession.

Here's what it would take to create a RA program.

The organizing team

First, a small team should be organized to oversee the program, consisting of the director of attorney development, a member of the attorney development committee, and an attorney with an interest in mentoring or development. Once the program has been in place for 2 years, a RA alum should be on the team as well.

Since program participants will be chosen from among volunteers, the team should decide whether to establish selection criteria or make selection random. Since new associates have already been vetted before being made an offer, it is to be assumed they are all highly qualified for the program. Therefore, the standards will more likely reflect the firm's needs, if, for example, the firm wants to more quickly develop associates in certain practice areas; or according to their law school or home region, in order to promote recruiting efforts.

Creating development opportunities

The task force should identify or design formal and informal development opportunities incremental to those available to associates at large. They should recruit partners who will commit to: 1) including RAs in senior level matters; 2) providing them with focused and frequent feedback on work product; and 3) explaining their thinking behind a certain approach to a negotiation, a client meeting, and the like. This will assure RAs get the highest and best training the firm can provide.

The task force should keep a log of each Renaissance Associate's assignments and obtain feedback from the RA and the partner on the matter as to what the RA did in the course of the assignment, what benefits the RA received, and what improvements should be made for such assignments in the future. This information should be used to plot the next assignments to further the RA's development.

Some thought should be given to assigning RAs to matters outside their areas of specialization to give them a broader context in which to understand that specialty. For instance, a corporate Renaissance Associate could be assigned to work on an environmental litigation to enhance her understanding of issues that can arise in due diligence.

Another means would be to second an RA to a client's legal department for a defined period, to give him an in-depth understanding of how the business operates and how to work effectively with in-house counsel. This would be at no charge to the client, as it would be part of the RA's enhanced development opportunities. This would benefit the firm as well by enhancing firm knowledge of the client and their business.

(In-house maternity leaves are particularly amenable to secondment opportunities, as the starting date and duration are reasonably certain.)

The task force should challenge itself to be creative and take advantage of one-off opportunities. A Renaissance Associate specializing in estate planning might be assigned as a temporary law clerk to a probate court needing to reduce a backed-up caseload. An RA in environmental law could be added to a team of environmental consultants conducting a Phase I assessment in preparation for the sale of a manufacturing business. The general principle in every case would be to identify opportunities that will increase the Renaissance Associates' understanding of their fields and broaden their contextual framework.

Special opportunities for formal training should be identified as well. Renaissance Associates could be sent to a two-week intensive workshop on negotiation skills, or they could be enrolled in a mini- or executive-style MBA program.

Show Me the Money

The funding for this extra development is a matter of simple math. Assume a firm's starting salary is $125,000 and first year associates bill 2000 hours, on average. If Renaissance Associates receive 400 hours a year additional in training and development, reducing billable hours to 1,600, then an RA's starting salary would be $100,000.

The salary reduction will not cover all the costs of the Renaissance Associate program, to be sure. Salary is only one element of a firm's per associate cost; there will be extra administrative and partner time, as well. But there will be benefits to the firm beyond developing a cadre of superbly trained young lawyers. The program will be an effective recruitment tool, not only for the program itself, but as evidence of the firm's creativity, flexibility, and commitment to new associates. It would be a distinctive element to discuss with clients, as evidence of the quality of the firm's associates as well as the firm (and the RAs) shouldering more of the cost of associate training.

But what if associates who are not in the Renaissance Associates program complain about being excluded? That would be a lovely outcome. The firm could enroll all new associates in the program, reduce salaries commensurately, and be a leader in returning the profession to a saner way to develop and compensate young lawyers for the long term.

Anyone willing to try it?