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Best
Practice #7
Check for Assignment Disparity
If
you're familiar with PAR's research, you know that a major penalty
for attorneys who reduce their hours is the loss of good assignments.
PAR has heard reports of attorneys being passed over for challenging
and interesting assignments, being relegated to document reviews,
and even being told to change their practice areas to do more
rote work. PAR has also heard that getting the dog work of the
firm causes frustration and a sense of second-class citizenship
for the reduced-hours attorneys, and is a factor in their decisions
whether to stay with the firm.
Sometimes
the loss of good assignments happens because partners assume,
with good intentions, that attorneys who reduce their hours don't
want to work on matters that might involve short deadlines or
travel. Sometimes the loss happens because partners tend to grab
whichever attorneys are closest when an assignment becomes available
- and attorneys who aren't in the office as often don't have as
much of an opportunity to be grabbed. Additional reasons are that
some partners won't work with attorneys who work less than full-time
on the often untested and mistaken assumption that the attorneys
will be unreliable, and some partners refuse to work with such
attorneys in a conscious attempt to make reduced hours schedules
unpalatable by demonstrating that negative consequences attach
to the schedule.
Whatever
the reason, it hurts law firms in the long run when reduced-hours
attorneys don't get a proportionate share of desirable assignments.
The attorneys won't get the experience they need for their professional
development, and the firms' human capital assets won't be enhanced.
The attorneys are more likely to leave their firms, thereby driving
up attrition costs and weakening client relationships. The reduced-hours
program gets undermined so it is no longer an effective recruiting
and retention tool.
Some
firms have changed their assignment systems in response to PAR's
research and in response to research that shows that "free
market" or "hey you" assignment systems disadvantage
women attorneys. They have implemented a more centralized assignment
system that evens out workloads, increases opportunities for different
attorneys to work with each other, and strives for fairness in
access to desirable work.
How
can you know if your assignment system is fair? Check for Assignment
Disparity. Look at who is working for the firm's biggest clients,
who is working on the highest profile matters, and who is working
with the firm's most influential partners. Take a bit of a historical
look as well, checking billing records for the past couple of
years. If the same type of attorneys are always getting the best
assignments - such as attorneys who work full-time, whites or
males - that is a red flag telling you that a better assignment
system is necessary. Your firm and your clients will be best served
if every team of attorneys includes women, minorities, and attorneys
on reduced schedules.
Deloitte
& Touche and Ernst & Young have both used this type of
assignment checking system for years. Does your firm have a similar
system? How is it working? Send us an email.
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