How to Motivate Young Attorneys – Chuck Boyk
As a 66-year-old attorney with 40 years of experience in law, I am having difficulty figuring out how to motivate my young attorneys. I am pleased with my current “young” attorneys but encountered a steep learning curve over the last several years. When I was a young attorney, we were thrilled to have a chance to work and were happy to pay our dues. We understood that meant working long hours, starting out handling the lowest level cases and that getting an assignment at 4 pm on Friday to finish over the weekend was “an opportunity.” I also walked miles in the snow to school every day.
I “assumed” that young attorneys would want a path to reach their potential and achieve career goals. My initial plan was to hire young attorneys with a great work ethic, large lifetime goals, common sense, the ability to get along with people, and top-rate legal skills. We would work together to develop their 5-year plan to achieve their goals financially and with career advancement. We would offer hands-on mentorship so they would understand the thought process on cases from intake to building a lifetime relationship with the client. I found some young attorneys who liked that idea. But I found numerous other attorneys with different goals and my approach did not motivate them. After Covid, I found several attorneys who want to primarily work remotely. My experience is that mentoring and team building is best done with attorneys in the office. I noticed attorneys who thought a work-life balance of 40 hours included being out of the office at 4:59 pm and not checking emails on the weekends. I found some young attorneys are looking for a well-paying “job” and not a career. Working on the largest cases (except after 5 pm and on the weekends) was their preference. During interviews, the major questions were about remote work, the amount of PTO, not working after 5 pm and on weekends, and the initial starting salary. I found young attorneys with 4 jobs in 5 years were the new norm, not the exception.
I am not putting down the whole “young generation.” Work-life balance makes sense. I work with young attorneys who are driven to reach their potential. They love zealously representing their clients. However, I am impressed with young attorneys and law clerks who understand that “delayed gratification” may be a better way to reach their long-term goals. Work hard today to make your future bright.
