An exodus of associates?

Nearly a quarter (24%) of associates plan to leave the legal profession in the next year, with one in ten citing personality or management issues as the reason, according to the Future Lawyers study by recruitment firm Badenoch & Clark.

Associates complained of a lack of communication from management about future issues within the firm, such as changes to the firm’s pay structure.
More than a third of associates said they were leaving because of their poor work/life balance.

Colin Loth, senior manager at Badenoch & Clark, says: “The legal sector has not, until now, experienced such fundamental change, so many partners are unused to upheaval and unprepared for the important role they must play in mitigating any negative impacts.

“Recent research into the banking and financial services sector, which suffered even more severely in the recession, has shown that 62% of employees are looking to move jobs, yet 86% of employers are confident their staff will stay as the upturn takes hold. This should be a warning to the legal sector, which looks likely to witness a similar exodus.”