Changing Workplace Expectations of Lawyers

Lawyers tell me every day what they are looking for. I’ve noticed a re-evaluation in the pandemic. Previously lawyers would tell me they wanted interesting work, reasonable coworkers, and good compensation. Here are some new trends I am seeing:

• Workplace flexibility. Workers have shown they can work productively from home, so they are not keen to return to the office and lose time on long commutes. Nobody tells me they want to be in the office five days a week, and some want 100% remote.
• Mission. Lawyers still are interested in cutting-edge technology (AI, crypto, robotics, cloud, etc.) but increasingly want a positive mission, e.g., curing diseases, solving big problems, helping the environment, etc.
• Culture & equity. Lawyers look for not only a positive culture but also a diverse workforce that’s pro-social justice. In previous years candidates did not raise DEI as a factor important to them, but now I get it often.
• Individual impact/career path. Lawyers want their work to have a direct impact. And all lawyers, from junior to senior, want a clear career trajectory.
• Younger generations are less willing to put up with long hours and boring work. A recent Bain study on changes in the workplace notes the younger generations of employees are indeed “increasingly overwhelmed” but have legitimate concerns about workplace. They are “grappling with a new mix of stressors” other generations haven’t faced, including rising inequality, declining housing affordability, the dark side of social media, and “broader turbulence over the past decade, including greater political polarization, geopolitical tensions, and concerns about climate change, not to mention a pandemic.”