“Lawyer Recruitment and Retention” was followed closely by “Under-performing Lawyers” as the third-largest risk. Thirty-two percent of law firm leaders cited it as high risk and an additional 47 percent as medium risk. With under-performing lawyers being a known concern, the focus on recruiting top talent becomes that much more prominent.

These risks were surpassed only by “Downward Pressure on Fees from Clients,” which law firm CFOs and COOs ranked as the number one risk to firm profitability. Thirty-seven percent of respondents cited it as high risk and an additional 53 percent as medium risk.

The attorney talent pool is shrinking

Another reason for the urgency surrounding increased millennial attorney recruiting is the decrease in available talent. Data from the Law School Transparency website indicates that law school enrollment had been on the decline since 2010. In fact, the data showed that 2018 marked the first notable uptick in enrollment since that time. In addition, not all students that enroll in law school aspire to a career at a law firm, making the task of securing top millennial attorney talent that much more difficult—and perhaps twice as important.

If the shrinking talent pool weren’t troublesome enough, competition for top attorneys is also heating up. According to 2019 data from Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor, law firms are hiring new associates at a rate of approximately 1.5x. This means that for every two associates that leave a firm, the firm hires three new ones. So, for firms hoping to secure top millennial attorneys, the battle doesn’t only exist in the lateral market. It exists in the law school graduate market as well.

Having the right attorneys in place to ensure your firm’s viability

To say that competition is stiff among law firms would be an incredible understatement. Firms are always fighting to win new business, and those wins come at the direct expense of the firms that lost it. Firms that aren’t actively pursuing new business could find it difficult to survive over the long term.

Those in need of proof need to look no further than the most recent law firm merger numbers. In 2016, Altman Weil reported 80 law firm mergers. In 2017, there were 102. 2018 posted an all-time high of 106. Firms hoping to survive and maintain their legacies are taking steps to secure top millennial lawyers and stake their claims as leaders in their areas of expertise.

In addition, many firms are becoming much more aggressive about hiring away top talent from their competitors. In the Law Firm CFO and COO survey, 57 percent of respondents said that “Poaching of Staff” by competitors was a risk to their firms.

Ensuring that the future of your firm is in good hands

With many baby boomer-managing partners and firm owners beginning to eye retirement, it is necessary to begin the conversation about who will care for the firms’ clients going forward. This is especially true for law firms that want to remain competitive.

According to the 2019 Thomson Reuters Peer Monitor Midyear Report, midsize firms are replacing equity partners at a rate of 0.45—or for every 100 equity partners that retire, there are only 45 new ones named. This rate falls far below that of their larger counterparts that are averaging a rate of 0.85. With the decreased number of equity partners being added in midsize firms, many are taking additional steps to get more work to younger attorneys.

While your firm’s millennial lawyers might be a few years from taking over an entire practice area or serving your firm’s largest or most prestigious clients, they are undeniably the future of the profession. Now is the time to start grooming them for more substantial work in the future.

According to the Law Firm COO and CFO Survey, 85 percent of law firm leaders said they would “put more work through more junior staff” in order to improve their firm’s performance. In addition to the anticipated performance improvements, attracting top millennial attorneys now and giving them more responsibility early on can help midsize firms with the long-term nurturing and transition of key client relationships when senior lawyers decide to retire.

What is important to millennials?

As a generation, millennials have a strong identity and an equally strong culture. Their preferences, lifestyles, and opinions have helped to bring about more change in the American workplace than perhaps any generation before them. For law firms, millennials can help to usher in new ways of thinking and working that ultimately put you ahead of the competition and position you as an industry leader.

If you want to attract top millennial attorneys, you need to create an environment that is appealing to them. But where do you start? A good first step is to gain a fundamental understanding of how they are wired. There are several things that seem to matter to most millennial attorneys that firms should consider as they ramp up their recruitment efforts.

Using the most current technology

Millennials are used to having nearly unlimited access to information and receiving immediate answers to their questions. They are accustomed to using the most up-to-date technology, and some make a firm’s use of technology a primary consideration in their selection of an employer.

The origins of this expectation can be traced back to law school. In a modern legal education setting, students are being fully ensconced in an environment that capitalizes on the synergy between technology and the law. From legal research tools to video conference software and school-funded iPads, they are being primed to practice a version of the law that is fully digital and more in line with today’s more discerning client expectations.

It’s why institutions like the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law are going so far as to create programs like TEaCH LAW Hub that integrate technology into legal education. When students graduate today, they are armed with a much more dynamic toolbox to practice law, communicate with clients, and collaborate with their fellow associates. As one first-year student told the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, “Right now, technology is something that sets people apart, but soon it will be the status quo within the industry.”

Collaborating and doing meaningful work

Millennials are collaborative by nature, and they like to work in a team environment. They also like to feel the work they are doing makes a difference in the world. Firms that succeed at attracting and retaining top millennial attorneys include them on key case or client teams from the start. Not only does it help to build the feeling of collaboration millennials want, but it also gives them insight into the impact of the firm’s work.

Creating career goals

As a group, millennials are extremely driven individuals, and career advancement is a key focus for them. While some reports tend to paint a picture of millennials as job-hoppers, they are simply making what they see as the next natural steps in their careers. In law firms, their goal is almost always to make partner. It is important for millennial lawyers to feel as though they are on a path toward their goals from the earliest stages. If they don’t see the path, it is at that time we see millennial attorneys looking for new positions they feel get them back on track.

Seeking mentorship

Mentorship may be one of the most important things young millennial lawyers look for when considering a new employer. Having a senior attorney that has been in the job to answer questions and show them the processes is an essential component.

Travis Adams is an associate attorney who works in the personal injury group at the Minnesota law firm of Melchert Hubert Sjodin. As he explains, “Being mentored by the managing partner has been a huge benefit. Learning the practice from someone that knows the clients, the cases, and the courts was really helpful to me. I might not have taken the position if the mentorship aspect hadn’t been there.”

For many respondents, however, the type of mentorship they receive is of equal importance. The 2019 Above the Law/Major, Lindsey & Africa survey (MLA survey) gathered responses from more than 1,200 Above the Law millennial readers about their goals, priorities, and thoughts on generational differences and cultural shifts within law firms.

The majority of respondents to the MLA survey reported that an informal mentor had either a significant (40 percent) or crucial (21 percent) role in their career.

So, if you decide to implement a mentorship program at your firm, you would likely do best to provide broad parameters rather than rigid curricula. Allow space for a less formal learning structure and a more open conversation between colleagues. Assigning a senior associate to assist with onboarding might be a good starting point. “It was good to know the firm had a structure in place that was designed to support me. And that they had already thought that through with associates was great to see,” Adams concludes.

Building flexibility

In general, millennials are known to be highly adaptable. They are innovative and solutions-oriented, and they have an innate skill for getting things done via nontraditional methods. Their work methods don’t always equate to a traditional workplace setting or work hours. Millennials often appreciate working in a less structured environment—one that allows them the freedom to do their work outside standard business hours and sometimes outside of the office.

Firms that want to attract millennial attorneys might consider implementing more flexible work arrangements. These might include less stringent beginning and ending times and more open work-from-home policies. Doing so will show that the firm recognizes the need to accommodate attorneys at all stages of their lives and that it is willing to make accommodations that allow them to do their best work.

Achieving work/life balance

On a related topic to flexibility, work/life balance ranks high for millennial attorneys. As Adams puts it, “You’ve got to prioritize your life. Your work will take over as much of your life as you’ll let it.”

According to the MLA survey, nearly 75 percent of millennial lawyers said they would trade a portion of their compensation for either more time off, a flexible work schedule or a cut in billable hours—all of which point in one way or another to work/life balance.