Biglaw

From Great Recession To Great Resignation To What?

So why are people quitting? A survey of HR professionals found a number of reasons. Heading the list is, no surprise, compensation.

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We all lived through the Great Recession of a decade or so ago, but now there’s the “Great Resignation,” people who have adapted the old Johnny Paycheck tune of “Take This Job and Shove It,” and fashioned it into a more genteel way of saying “I quit.” Fueled by the pandemic that seems to have no end (thanks to all those who refuse vaccinations for whatever the reasons) the working landscape is changing — probably forever.

There are a number of ways in which to part company with your employer. There is “rage-quitting.” That may be a good idea, maybe not. I am a believer in not burning any bridges, because even though there are lots and lots of lawyers, we talk, and word gets around, both good and bad. If you have a safe place to land, another job, severance, unemployment insurance, then quitting may be okay. Just be careful when you walk out the door. My client had employees who changed their minds after quitting, and the client’s response was always “too late, resignation accepted, no do-overs.”

So why are people quitting? A survey of HR professionals found a number of reasons. Heading the list is, no surprise, compensation. Close behind is the desire for better work/life balance. Then come better benefits, better advancement opportunities, and what is called “COVID clarity,” that is, deciding how to spend your life and what you really want out of a job. It’s not necessarily easy to figure that last one out, but the past 18 months or so have provided the opportunity to decide who and what are important in your life and how to make the most of what you have and what you want.

To that end bravo to this firm for reducing billable requirements to create a semblance of work/life balance.

Perhaps this will be the start of a trend? Since law firms tend to be like sheep in terms of running together and not breaking out of the pack, once one firm does it and sees the value in retention and satisfaction, maybe others will start to think about it. If fixed expenses such as rent and other items are reduced going forward due to the pandemic and the subsequent need for less space, then maybe there will be an easing of the billable hours requirement elsewhere.

And perhaps another chink in the hours race is Judge Charles Breyer’s order in the McKinsey MDL litigation telling law firms to give associates a break over the Christmas holiday. Bravo!

I’ve heard way too many stories, usually told with pride, about how many hours associates worked, (e.g., into the night and next day). I can’t believe that the work product doesn’t suffer. Working all those hours doesn’t seem like a badge of honor to me. I worked my share of late-night hours, but after a certain number, I knew I wasn’t as sharp after all those hours. (And this was when I was way younger; no comments, please.)

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There are many reasons for why peeps participate in the Great Resignation. It’s not just work overload, but it’s also a sense that the work is not meaningful, that what one does at work does not really matter (tell that to an associate working on discovery responses). It’s also not receiving the emotional support that tells any lawyer or staff that what they are doing does indeed matter. It’s hard to think about meaning with student loans, family, and other personal obligations, but it is that meaning that can make the difference between someone staying and someone going. How many managers ask employees what they like or don’t like about their jobs? Do they see jobs, or do they see careers? How many managers ask what the future looks like? How many managers ask about how their families are doing? We forget that attorneys and staff are not robots, but people.

I watched the movie “Worth” on Netflix. What the value of a life? Based on Kenneth Feinberg’s work as the special master for the 9/11 Victim’s Compensation Fund (his book is fascinating), how do you value a life? What are the considerations? Purely economics or are there other factors to be considered? Is a hedge fund manager’s life worth more in economic terms than a member of FDNY? More than a chef at Windows on the World? More than a custodian? On this Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, a rabbi reminds us that we are more than our jobs. So, how do you put a value on what and who are meaningful to you? The movie shows that after 9/11 everyone worked together in that tragic time. What a concept.

And lastly, because I love snark, the sports segment of the all-news radio station here in LA used to have a weekday afternoon feature called the “Athlete Arrest of the Day.” I am co-opting the title to call mine the “Judicial Misconduct of the Week.”

The California Commission on Judicial Performance has publicly admonished LA Superior Court Judge Michael O’Gara for his comments on both Facebook and Twitter. The discipline order includes screen shots of both sites.

The judge deleted his Twitter account and removed himself from a particular Facebook group. The commission thought a public admonishment would suffice. After reading his social media contained in the commission’s findings, would it be malpractice to not move to disqualify him on any case you now or in the future have in front of him? Just asking.

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Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.

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