12/01/2009 11:37:51 AM EST
Associates Gain Valuable Experience and Help Others Simultaneously
Apprenticeships give law school grads experience the right way
Having written critically about the implications of major law firms offering newly hired associates to fill vacant judiciary clerkships, it seems only fair to cite a more positive trend. Last month, the Associated Press reported that, to postpone the start dates of new hires they recruited before the economic meltdown, a number of blue-chip law firms are paying hundreds of "deferred associates" reduced stipends to spend a year doing public-interest work pro bono until the business slowdown ends. The associates gain valuable experience that will benefit them and their employers later, and the firms hold on to talent that they recruited heavily. But there also is sacrifice involved on both sides. The stipends may be 50 percent of the starting salaries the associates expected in boom times. Further, according to the head of the Pro Bono Institute, the firms cannot claim "credit" for this pro bono service because the associates are not yet employees.
The real beneficiaries are cash-strapped nonprofits, legal clinics and legal aid societies, all of which get free assistance from top-quality law graduates at a time when their needs are greatest and they have little or no money for new help. Unlike the judicial internships, there is little question of "influence peddling" with these organizations when the associates eventually take their places at their firms. And, best of all, to quote the report, some of the firms "hope sending recruits into the field before bringing them on board full time will become a permanent feature of legal hiring.” This, of course, harkens to the apprenticeship idea I've entertained previously. Students graduate even from the most prestigious law schools with little practical experience in the everyday aspects of being a lawyer, then are often buried in research and document processing for their first several years in their new firms.
The hands-on experience that the pro bono apprentices will get "in the trenches" at legal aid societies and similar pro bono institutions will stand them in good stead for years to come. The whole pro bono concept also benefits. Requiring associates to have six billable hours a day seems like a lot -- yet, times five days times 50 weeks, it provides only 1,500 hours per year, well below what most firms target for associates. Raise the target to eight billable hours a day gets to 2,000 hours a year, close to what most firms expect. But how can associates get that many billable hours per day and still do pro bono work? The internship idea seems the perfect answer. The reality of 2009 is that, many newly minted graduates from top law schools are $200,000 or more into debt for a J.D. degree that suddenly appears to be less valuable. Pro bono internships give them income today, the prospect of a law firm job tomorrow, and experience that is invaluable. And, who knows -- some of these interns may just decide that there is life beyond the megafirms, and choose a career in public interest service.
By Ed Poll, J.D., M.B.A., CMC, is the principal of LawBiz Management, a national law firm practice management consultancy based in Venice, Calif. He coaches lawyers, consults with law firms on strategy and profitability, speaks at bar associations and law firm retreats, and has written 11 books. Contact him at edpolllawbiz.com or visit www.lawbiz.com.
Copyright 2009 Dolan Media Newswires
Michigan Lawyers Weekly