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In our recent report, Disloyal lawyers: has the partner track lost its lustre?, legal leaders suggest the challenge of lawyer retention is partly due to loyalty. Lawyers in the early stages of their careers no longer feel obligated to stay at the same law firm, nor to follow the once-assumed partnership model. Job mobility has drastically increased along with a reduction in the associated stigma around moving. 

These challenges aren't restricted to the legal sector. They're part of a mass re-evaluation of priorities that followed the pandemic. However, solutions are unique to individual sectors.

In this article, we explore the driving forces behind the decline in loyalty, the impact on law firms and the wider sector, and discuss whether less loyalty is such a bad thing.

The decline in loyalty 

The decline in loyalty is driven by wider social change. People across all industries have re-evaluated their priorities and work-life balance has often come out on top. The social change is not unique to any given generation or demographic. It's widespread, almost universal. In fact, according to the recent , more than two-thirds (67%) of employees across the economy need to rethink what work means to employees.

Lawyers, like workers across the economy, no longer want to spend twelve-hour days in an office, and this as mentioned above, has led to increased job mobility and decreased stigma around changing jobs, particularly for younger lawyers. of hiring data from Atlas by supports this. The data reveals lawyers are more likely to move firms, with junior lawyers being significantly more likely. The peak movement occurs at the 3PQE stage.

That's a point recognised by associates and legal leaders alike. In fact, according to our report, 72% of leaders said associates are less loyal than in the past. This number jumps to 81% for large and medium-sized firms. Importantly, 61% of leaders said declining loyalty is intertwined with job mobility. It's thus self-perpetuating: lawyers are moving firms due to the reduced stigma and the reduced stigma makes lawyers move.

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The impact of the decline in loyalty

One obvious impact, as explored in the report, is the decline of the partnership model. Our report shows less than half of law firm leaders believe associates are interested in becoming partner. Associates suggest the same, with only a quarter (25%) wanting to make partner at firms within the next five years, dropping to 22% for large firms and 23% for medium-sized firms. And, as the partnership model declines, other options take its place.

In recent years, we've seen many alternative legal services that afford variety clients and career options to ambitious lawyers. Freelance options cater to a greater work-life balance, ALSPs can offer on-demand and innovative services, and platform law firms can afford lawyers much greater autonomy. These all diverge from the partnership route, perhaps better complementing work-life balance.

Another impact revolves around law firms themselves. They're changing, meeting the demands of the moment. That's clear around new career tracks, as we've explored elsewhere. These include new routes, such as the 'Legal Director' route offered by or the 'Professional Attorney' track offered by . That also includes schemes dedicated to better work-life balance, such as the 'switch on/off' offered by , which allows associates to reduce core working hours in exchange for a reduction of remuneration. Associates can take their working hours down to 0.9 or 0.8 FTE.

But law firms are also changing to boost loyalty. In our report, Moira Slape, Chief People Officer at , says firms should carry out regular pulse surveys with lawyers to monitor engagement levels. She highlighted the importance of transparent and consistent communication, managing work allocation fairly across teams, and putting in place timely learning and development programmes. Shane Gleghorn, the Managing Partner at , builds on Slape's suggestions, and says his firm drives engagement by encouraging collaboration and learning together to ensure employees have the best experience of their careers, working with interesting and innovative clients.

Is the decline of loyalty such a bad thing?

Dynamic industries are ever-evolving, changing to keep up with the demands of the moment. Loyalty in all industries is less than in previous generations and the legal profession is no exception, says James Knight, CEO of . 'This is a function of a changing society,' he says. 

Change is often presumed negative until proven otherwise. However, there are many benefits to the decline of loyalty to lawyers and firms. The benefits to lawyers are obvious: greater work-life balance, reduced potential for burnout, decreased stigma around job mobility, more lucrative packages to meet demands of attraction and retention, and so on.

But there are benefits to firms, too. The first is increased job mobility. If firms offer attractive deals, more talent is available. And, declining loyalty means firms can attract from a wider pool of talent. Firms can also benefit from higher staff turnover by improving innovation: constantly bringing in fresh ideas and new perspectives, utilising the different approaches and strategies new lawyers bring. 

Lawyers typically want to prove themselves at new firms. Older lawyers can grow complacent, losing the desire to attract new clients or go above and beyond for existing ones. That can lead to a less dynamic law firm. With increased mobility, law firms that practice accountability and master onboarding will attract some of the best and smartest lawyers, fully equipped, ready to work, and hungry to impress.

Discover the full findings in our free report, Disloyal lawyers: has the partner track lost its lustre? Download today!