Associate attorneys occupy a strange area in the law firm hierarchy. As far as clients are concerned, one lawyer is the same as the next: they charge too much. But there’s much more to the whole associate makeup than just that overly abridged characterization.

Part of the problem is that associates are considered by most within the legal industry as exchangeable commodities that will soon leave the firm anyway. This is an attitude that we hope to change. Ideally, the associate will be the next lawyer to take the reigns of the firm in the next decade or so. But in order to do that, it’s up to you to develop a sense of loyalty.

Develop a Sense of Origin

Attorneys, like most people, start to begin looking for greener grass when the initial honeymoon period within the firm has worn off. The kinds of associates you don’t want to have around are those who are simply there for the paycheck and who will leave as soon as the next best opportunity comes.

Avoid Pigeonholing

The larger the firm, the easier it is to pigeonhole an associate. But it’s usually very easy for firms to ask the attorney to apply her time to a wide variety of different cases and issues.

Get Them Talking to Clients Now

Small firms should be getting their associates in front of clients sooner rather than later. Rather than keep the new associate in the corner working on briefs, more responsibility should be allocated to him or her in making client contact.

The Value of Associates at Small Firms

Law has a bad reputation for bringing out the worst in people’s behaviors, and lawyers have bad labels like “ambulance chasers” pinned on them. Even though there has been recent media buzz about the migration of attorneys from firm to firm, we still strongly believe in small firm experience. But that cannot continue without a strong base of associate attorneys helping row the ship. And that takes commitment and loyalty.

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