ESQ Legal Practice Magazine JUNE 2014 EDITION | Page 47

In assigning work, give the Gen Xers their own
piece of responsibility and trust them to find
their own creative ways to complete it. Give
recognition, including personal time.
Boomers have experienced a
longer time frame for
leadership and promotion—and think the younger
generations should also have
to wait and achieve a series of
milestones.
Also significant, the generations have somewhat different
perceptions of the concept of
professionalism, as indicated
by the results of Practice
Development Counsel's fall
2011 survey.
THE DOWNSIDES OF
TYPICAL LAW FIRM
CULTURE
Many of the factors discussed
here apply to other professions and industries as well,
but typical law firm culture
often plays against what it
takes to retain lawyers and
staff, or even to ensure they
haven't mentally checked out
even if they are still physically
present.
Firm management teams often
delude themselves into
thinking that paying more will
keep the best talent for the
long haul—or as long as they
want them.
Increasingly regarded as law
firm cultural negatives:
∙ Short-term thinking and
focus on profits per partner
∙ Undervaluing (i.e., not
rewarding) attorney
Ά
mentoring and training

∙ Little long-term talent
planning and management
beyond an obsolete recruitment system
∙ An hourly billing and payyour-dues culture that hinders
work/life flexibility and
development of the whole
person
∙ The caste system that fosters
an us-versus-them mentality
between lawyers and everyone else, and even among the
tiers of lawyers
IMPROVING
ENGAGEMENT AND
RETENTION )A