Associates More Satisfied
Associates are happier than they used to be. And they are especially happy at Dickstein Shapiro in Washington, D.C.
On a 1-5 scale, the average associate satisfaction score was 3.81, a record high, according to a survey by American Lawyer.
Dickstein Shapiro was first in the survey rankings, with an associate satisfaction score of 4.585. It was followed by Susman Godfrey in Houston, Goulston & Storrs in Boston, Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia, and Nutter McClennen in Boston.
Coming in last, with an associate satisfaction score of 3.065, is the national firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner.
Despite the high satisfaction scores, associates don’t plan on staying, the magazine says. Only 44.9 percent said they expected to be at the same firm in five years, and only 11.7 percent expected to become equity partners at that firm.
The magazine also reports that law grads from top-tier schools will face a good hiring situation next year. AmLaw 200 firms said they planned to hire about 10,000 associates next fall, but the top 20 law schools will produce only about 6,500 graduates.
The survey measures satisfaction of third, fourth and fifth-year associates at the nation’s top firms, according to an explanation of methodology. Ten associates from a firm must return surveys for it to be included.
