Survey Finds Low Morale, High Anxiety Among Midlevel Associates
Morale has dropped to a record-low level for midlevel associates at the country’s largest 200 law firms, and worries about job security appear to be the reason.
The 6,100 associates who responded to an American Lawyer survey rated their morale at 2.7 on a 1-to-5 scale, the lowest level in the five years the question has been asked. Eight-three percent said they had medium or high anxiety about losing their jobs, and 46 percent reported they had less work to do, the American Lawyer reports.
Sixty-one percent said their firms had layoffs, more than 20 percent reported benefits cuts, and 16 percent reported pay cuts. The pay-cut number would be higher now because the survey was sent out in March.
Benefits cuts included a lower 401(k) match, reported by associates at Foley Hoag and Greenberg Traurig, and higher required contributions to health coverage, reported by associates at Bracewell & Giuliani and Schiff Hardin. Many also told of lost perks, such as the loss of a cell phone reimbursement at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Vinson & Elkins, and the end of technology stipends at Perkins Coie and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.
At Nutter McClennen & Fish, top-ranked in the survey, one associate beefed about coffee, the magazine reports. “The firm switched from serving Starbucks coffee to regular, unbranded coffee,” the associate said. “As sad as that is, I miss that the most!”
The American Lawyer survey asked third- fourth- and fifth-year associates to report on 12 areas that related to job satisfaction, such as relations with partners and other associates, compensation, and openness. Here is a look at how some firms fared:
• Boston’s Nutter McClennen & Fish was tops overall and tops for work satisfaction. Associates said they were able to take more of a leadership role in their work because of the firm’s size—just 150 lawyers.
• Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease had the biggest increase in overall rank, jumping to seventh place after coming in at No. 156 last year. Partners saw a drop of 4.5 percent in profits, but associates did not see a freeze in their pay.
• White & Case, which laid off 270 associates last year, had the lowest score for associate satisfaction. One midlevel associate said the firm’s layoff decisions “were unclear to most associates.”
• The top five overall, according to this American Lawyer chart, were: Nutter McClennen; Thompson Coburn; Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; and Miles & Stockbridge.
Also see:
ABAJournal.com: “Midlevel Associates Rank McKee Nelson Best for Handling Layoffs”
