(312) 781-9000
04 Feb

BigLaw Associates: These 5 Questions Could Lead to Greater Job Satisfaction

by: Astor Professional Search

To achieve personal growth and greater job satisfaction in BigLaw practice, associates must proactively manage their careers and avoid losing opportunities that could lead to better positions. The five questions below will help them make the most of their career.

Image of two young businessmen using touchpad at meeting. Concept of the need for an experienced personal injury attorney

How Long Has It Been Since Law School Graduation?

There are particular windows of time in a BigLaw associate’s career that determine the best moves that he or she should make. Between the second and fifth year after graduating from law school is the sweet spot for making or exploring a lateral move because of high marketability.

From the sixth to the ninth year, an associate should be advancing toward partnership. If not, then he or she should be thinking of going in-house or considering government and non-BigLaw spaces.

What Is the Level of Business?

Meeting the standard billable hours and bonus requirements is crucial for an associate’s job security and lateral marketability. Work being slow at the entire firm for a prolonged period should be a cause for concern. It should be equally worrying for an associate if everyone apart from him or her is busy.

What Are the Prospects For Advancement?

Understanding the real-time partnership prospects that exist at a firm is particularly important to associates in their mid-level and senior associate years. People should consider:

  1. How many attorneys in their practice groups have been promoted to partners in the last few years, and how often?
  2. How many people are ahead of them and beside them for partnership consideration?

Is There Anyone in the Firm Whose Work Is Worth Emulating?

If there is no senior attorney that an associate wants to emulate, then he or she should assess what there is to gain by staying at the firm. Headhunters for lawyers can help associates find firms with better working environments and sponsorship or mentorship opportunities.

How Secure Is the Firm?

Considering the 2008-2009 layoffs and the recent quiet staff layoffs that ran through Big Law, it is critical for associates to find out about job security. Finding out the following will help:

  • How many associates have left recently?
  • Why did they leave?
  • Where did they go?
  • How did the firm handle the departures?

Asking these five questions frequently will help BigLaw associates know where they stand and when it is best to consider new opportunities. Consequently, they will develop a clearer roadmap for arriving at their legal career objectives.

author-bio-image author-bio-image
William Sugarman

William Sugarman is the president and founder of Astor Professional Search. He engages in the successful placement of attorneys with local, regional, and international law firms and corporations. Bill’s extensive legal and business development experience give Astor an edge over other legal recruiters nationwide. At the cornerstone of Bill’s strategic philosophy is providing the highest level of personalized attention to his clients and attorney candidates. This is also a key factor that separates Astor from other legal search firms, and it consistently delivers legal placements year after year.

Years of Experience: More than 20 years

Share it here
Related Posts
06 Jun How Legal Recruiters Can Help With Career Transitions
How Legal Recruiters Can Help With Career Trans...

Career transitions can help you gain new skills and prepare for job opportunities in other areas within and outside your industry. W...

10 Mar Common Practices of the Most Profitable Law Firms
Common Practices of the Most Profitable Law Firms

BTI Consulting recently analyzed over 300 law firms to identify the key characteristics shared by the most profitable law ...

20 Jan How to Ace Your Virtual Interview
How to Ace Your Virtual Interview

Thorough preparation is crucial to acing a virtual interview. To stand out from other applicants, a candidate must ensure his or her...