The future of law firms: Are they ready for the generational revolution?

“An engaging legal services proposal should start with a clear description of the requested service. This demonstrates that you have understood the client’s specific needs and that you are prepared to address them directly.”

In the vibrant changing landscape of the legal industry, a contemporary dilemma looms over law firms: How to adapt to the changing mindset of the new generations? A concerned client shared with us his concern: despite a multi-million dollar investment in modern offices in Brickell, the hallways remain desolate, devoid of the energy that used to permeate them. Young lawyers, for the most part, have defied tradition; they prefer the freedom of telecommuting to the rigidity of corporate offices.

It’s not an easy question; times change, and law firms must also change. It is not enough to think that our firm is so important that anyone will want to work with us. We are constantly complaining about the lack of commitment of young lawyers, and it is time to change the paradigm. Firms can take simple and effective actions to achieve this retention.

The first thing to understand is that young people are different today and have needs that we didn’t even think about before. Let’s see what their main characteristics are and some of the actions we can take to achieve a successful outcome:

They are ambitious and eager to grow in their professional career.

It is important to have a clear and achievable career plan, but the most important thing is to communicate it clearly and adhere to what has been agreed upon. Additionally, it is essential to have an interesting and competitive salary offer in the market, based not only on the purely salary aspect. A performance and client acquisition bonus plan can be proposed, which benefits both parties. It should be clarified that this performance should be constantly measured with clear indicators.

They like technology and the immediacy of information.

Let’s use this to our advantage, let’s take advantage of the technological tools available, let’s ask for help with communication in social networks, let them do research in different sources, they will surely do it much better than us.

Work-life balance

Something very important is that they are asking for a balance between work and personal life. Let’s respect free time, let’s promote those spaces. For a lawyer to be efficient, he or she must maintain a balance; the brain works much better after a good rest. Time spent with family, friends or sports is essential for a good performance. Likewise, we can offer hybrid work possibilities in which some days they can work from home, being clear about the objectives to be met.

New learning possibilities

They want to learn, they are continuously looking for new learning possibilities. This is something we should take advantage of, for example with a training program for them and why not, support them financially so that they can achieve their goals and at the same time train other members of the firm. What if we implement a mentoring system where all lawyers are winners?

They benefit from teamwork. It is important for them to share knowledge and opinions and thus reach deeper conclusions, let’s schedule team sessions to explore effective solutions for our clients.

One way to support our Pro Bono work is by working with young people, they have a great social conscience and are constantly seeking to be useful to society through their legal work. Let’s support their initiatives and strengthen this area in our firm.

It is very important for them to be taken into account and to have their abilities and achievements recognized. It is essential to take the time to do so, to tell them formally that they did well, that we noticed their effort, that they contributed to the success of a team, that it is worthwhile to do a good job. Although it is also critical to let them know when objectives were not met, through assertive feedback.

Young people are globally minded, aware of international legal issues and multicultural. Let’s tilt the balance in our favor by assigning projects where they can demonstrate these skills.

They support and promote diversity

Let’s not forget that they support and promote diversity. Do we have a program in the firm where they can help? Do we want to be a leading firm in this field? Let’s take advantage of our lawyers, they have the tools to achieve interesting objectives in this aspect.

Opportunities for them to work on projects in different areas.

When a young lawyer joins a firm, they may not be clear about the practice area in which they want to work or the type of work they want to do. We can provide opportunities for them to work on projects in different areas so that both the lawyer and the firm can define the area in which they will develop from then on.

Sometimes we believe that because they are young lawyers, we should assign them only operational tasks or less interesting projects. On the contrary, we should offer them the opportunity to work on issues that challenge them, and we will be pleasantly surprised by the results.

Finally, we cannot forget that our firm has clear values and a clear mission, it is essential that young people know them and that their attitudes are aligned with them. Otherwise, no matter how good legal technicians they are, they will not have a successful professional career.

In conclusion, young people will be the future of our firms and will ensure their survival. We can’t pretend to train lawyers in the same way that the current ones were educated and developed. Times have changed, as have interests, values and, in general, the vision of the world and the world itself. The key is adaptability.

Daniela Mutis