Survey Finds Majority of Summer Associates Felt Law Firm Cared About their Mental Health

Summer associates surveyed by American Lawyer expressed positive feedback on their work experiences in the 2022 Summer Associates Satisfaction Survey. Over 5,400 associates responded to the survey, which asked questions on a range of topics including partner access and mentorship, associate interactions, interest in the work, and firms’ alignment with their own goals and self-image. Based on average scores across the categories, American Lawyer ranked the 2022 best firms for summer associates:

1. Blank Rome, 5.0 (tie)

1. Duane Morris, 5.0 (tie)

3. Kramer Levin, 4.993

4. Paul Hastings, 4.980

5. O’Melveny & Myers, 4.997

6. Stroock, 4.956

7. Allen & Overy, 4.944

8. Day Pitney, 4.935

9. Proskauer Rose, 4.929

10. Akin Gump, 4.915

The majority of the law firms received high ratings and nearly 90 percent of third year respondents said that they would accept an offer from their summer firm for full-time employment. Just under three-quarters of respondents said that they expected to have a career at their law firm. The survey also asked summer associates to rank their concerns. Alongside work-life balance, mental health and emotional well-being emerged as key priorities for respondents. Many summer associates felt that their firms adequately addressed those concerns and almost three-quarters said that they felt that their firm genuinely cared about their mental health. 

Young Lawyers Express Desire for Employers to Provide Clear Career Progression, Mentorship Opportunities, and Better Work-Life Balance

A global survey of young lawyers sponsored by the International Bar Association gives an eye-opening look at workplace satisfaction in the legal profession. The survey, which includes responses from over 3,000 professionals, aged 40 and under, found that in the next five years, 54 percent are likely to move to a new, comparable workplace, 33 percent are likely to move to a new legal profession (e.g., from a firm to in-house), and 20 percent are likely to leave law altogether. Most who say that they are planning to leave their current roles point to salary as the impetus (49 percent). But many also named progression opportunities and work-life balance (38 and 36 percent, respectively). Among the 20 percent who plan to leave the legal profession, 41 percent cite workload and 36 percent cite work-life balance. 

Just ten percent of respondents felt that they had not experienced any barriers to progression in their careers. Among the young lawyers who did express concerns about career progression, 37 percent said they feel their efforts to balance commitments hinders their career opportunities. A similar number, 36 percent, call out a lack of mentorship. Just under one-third (mostly in-house lawyers) feel that there is a dearth of promotion opportunities. The report also found that women report barriers to career progression at a higher rate than men; 40 percent of women report difficulty balancing commitments (34 percent for men), 39 percent of women cite a lack of mentorship and career guidance (32 percent for men), and most differentiating, 20 percent of women cite direct discrimination compared to just nine percent of men.

When asked about concerns for their future, most young lawyers cited work-life balance (62 percent); this held particularly true among the youngest lawyers, as well as the female lawyers surveyed. Following in a distant second, 43 percent named opportunities for growth and 36 percent named oversaturation of the labor market with new law graduates and failure of the legal profession to address toxic workplaces.

The survey responses, although global, likely also hold true within the U.S., which has a reputation for hard-charging corporate environments. However, James Goodnow, CEO and Managing Partner at Fennemore Craig, said in Above the Law that these workplace-related obstacles—lack of mentorship and promotion opportunities—are “...curable, but they require real thought and effort to make them effective.” He notes that putting together quick and simple solutions that check the box should not be the takeaway for legal industry leaders. For example, rather than quickly assigning young lawyers to mentors and hoping for success, firms should take the more difficult path of cultivating close working relationships between young and experienced lawyers. He calls out the power of “proximity and time” to create “real affinity and friendship.” Similarly, he notes that promotion cycles should not just be known, consistent and achievable, but that young lawyers should be given opportunities to make meaningful contributions to the firm. He recommends providing opportunities for young lawyers to become subject matter experts. “As with so many problems in law firms, the cure really comes down to cultivating a strong firm culture. When our teams feel cared about, when they lift one another up and empower each other, all the seemingly impossible problems tend to become less significant,” he said. 

ABA Report Calls for Action to Help Young Lawyers Struggling with Student Loans

A study released this week by the Young Lawyers Division of the American Bar Association (ABA) shows that student debt is impacting law graduates’ lives and mental health. The survey, which included responses from 1,084 law school graduates from the last ten years, found that not only are almost all law school graduates impacted by student loan debt, but that it affects them personally and professionally. The study also found that lawyers of color were disproportionately impacted.

Just over 95 percent of survey respondents took out student loans for law school and more than 90 percent of respondents graduated from law school with at least $65,000 in student debt. The mean loan balance post-JD was $164,742, which includes undergraduate loan balances averaging $17,512. Notably, while about a quarter of white respondents hold over $200,000 in debt at graduation, this proportion increases to at least one third among Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Multiracial respondents.

For many, these loans also grow over time, with the reported current mean loan balance ($171,036) slightly higher than the mean at graduation. Most respondents reported that their loans were higher or the same as they were at graduation; 40.4 percent of respondents reported higher and 11.7 percent said the same. Among Black respondents, however, a staggering 67 percent reported higher debt now than at graduation. Even among the more tenured lawyers, those who graduated before 2014, 45.4 percent have higher levels of student debt currently than at graduation. Though the report acknowledges that there may be reasons explaining the increased debt, including strategic repayment plans, loan forgiveness plans, and/or unemployment, it illustrates the structural burden of such high debt.

Almost all respondents, 89.8 percent, reported making at least one personal decision based on debt. Over half of those surveyed postponed or opted not to take a vacation (58.3 percent) or postponed or decided not to buy a house (55.6 percent). More significantly, almost half of respondents, 48 percent, postponed or decided not to have children due to their debt, while about 28.8 percent postponed or decided not to get married.

Professionally, 37 percent chose a job that paid more money over a job that they really wanted, and 33.5 percent took a different career than originally expected. Among those lawyers working as corporate counsel or in private practice, over 40 percent (43.2 and 42.1 respectively) said that they took a job that pays more instead of a job that they really wanted. Similarly, large proportions of those working in government/military and public sector/non-profit (63.8 percent and 50.9 percent respectively) chose a job that qualified them for loan forgiveness over a job that they really wanted. 

Perhaps most importantly, the report calls out the emergence of mental health as a theme in the responses of survey participants, despite participants not being prompted to discuss their mental health. The survey included an open-ended question that asked how student debt has impacted respondents’ lives, and the responses consistently mentioned stress, anxiety, mental wellness, depression, and anger. The report summary noted that the responses were “jarring” in both content as well as the frequency in which mental health and related issues were mentioned.

The ABA calls the report “a call to action” and urges a new approach to student loan advocacy, stating that if changes are not made soon, entering the profession could become cost prohibitive.