National Jurist - October 2007 - (Page 30) involved in recruiting and went on her first business development trip just two weeks into her career. “From the first day, I’ve been treated as a future partner,” Powell said. “I get to exercise a lot of skills that I’ll need one day as a partner.” sider also a firm’s diversity record. Merit-based compensation Though at most firms, junior associates are compensated according to a lock-step method, the extent to which merit is considered in senior associates’ compensation can be a good indicator of the importance of billing and rainmaking at a firm. Weil Gotshal has instituted a meritbased bonus system where a small percentage of associates get a distinguished bonus above the market rate for other associates. Ropes & Gray bases senior associate reviews on a combination of factors, including hours, individual performance, pro bono work, and firm success. In addition to its hours-based bonus program, Powell said Baker & Daniels has a “discretionary bonus program” that allows practice group leaders to reward associates based on performance. By teaching attorneys to focus on developing relationships rather than selling services, the firm also decreased rainmaking pressures, which Powell said terrified her when she first left law school. Finally, attorneys recommend that students consider the firm’s long-term approach to work-life balance. “You have to look at work-life balance as a continuum,” said Weil Gotshal’s Spector. “You can’t look at it in terms of ‘how is my work-life balance today’ because on any particular day, it can go off-kilter.” Spector says quality of life should be measured — both by the firm and its employees — on longer terms, such as a weekly or monthly basis. Associates agree that the long-term approach works best when selecting a firm as well. “I saw a place that I believed I could work for the duration of my career, and didn’t have to change firms just because of a change of circumstances [in my personal life],” Baker & Daniels’ Sarah Powell said. WHERE LAW FIRMS INTERVIEW. Find out where your law school ranks. www.NJPLonline.com Click on Careers. ALSO ON OUR WEBSITE BEST Study Aids. Go to NJPLonline.com, click on Study Aids and listen to our focus group as they discuss and evaluate the most popular study aids. MEET MIKEY MEL AND THE JD’S Interview with law school rock band. Go to NJPLonline.com, click on JD Confidential. A general collegial atmosphere As a summer associate at Baker & Daniels, Powell recalls meeting with a partner who interrupted their work to take what he thought was an important phone call — from the coach on his son’s Little League team who wanted to discuss the trophies that needed to be ordered. Such informal snippets of attorney life are a good indicator that people have lives outside of the firm, said Powell. That makes for happier associates, but also for a happier workplace in general. When you interview, look around for pictures of family, friends, or hobbies, said Nannes. Listen to conversations in the hallway to see if people are talking about non-work-related topics. “Nobody comes into my office without seeing a hundred pictures of my kids,” said Wanner. Also, look beyond the firm holiday party for examples of positive social interaction between employees. Dickstein Shapiro’s “College of Extracurricular Activities” offers activities before and after work hours, including sports teams and a wine lovers club. It’s common for partners and associates to socialize together. Nannes jokingly describes the bar downstairs from the firm’s offices where, “If as an associate you have to buy your own drink on a Thursday or Friday night and can’t get a partner to buy it for you, you really suck.” Diversity numbers, not just work-life balance numbers Though there is a tendency to look at diversity and work-life balance as two separate issues, experts agree that the two topics are closely related. Because diversity encompasses more than just ethnic or racial balance — including gender-based diversity — a firm’s diversity tends to directly affect its quality of life. Firms that made the list also tend to do well in terms of diversity, and most of the top 20 made the most recent Vault.com “Best 20 Firms for Diversity” list as well — and that is no coincidence. So, when reviewing work-life balance initiatives, con30 THE NATIONAL JURIST October 2007 http://www.nita.org http://www.NJPLonline.com http://www.NJPLonline.com http://www.Vault.com http://www.NJPLonline.com
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