Old People, Small Law Firms, Solo Practitioners, Vicious Infighting

Back In The Race: The Civil War Between The Generations

Young and old attorneys: can't we all just get along?

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Being a lawyer, I knew there would be a certain level of animosity as part of the job. Usually I get it from opposing counsel. Sometimes from judges. Other times from the government. And on occasion, from my clients. As a solo practitioner, I expected competitive but professional animosity from other lawyers trying to make a living.

But what I did not expect was the large amount of hostility between young lawyers and older lawyers. Young lawyers are entitled. Old lawyers are greedy and stuck in their obsolete ways. This is not animosity. This is a civil war. And while we bicker among ourselves, we ignore the larger forces that have changed the profession, and threaten our livelihood and the manner in which we service clients.

So today, I would like to address the complaints of the young and old attorneys with the hopes of coming to an understanding and a truce.

New Attorneys Are Entitled. A few years ago when unemployed law school graduates were coming out of the internet shadows complaining about the lack of real lawyer jobs, the popular comeback was to label them as entitled brats. Before the Great Recession, the critics may have had a point, and made many of us re-evaluate our expectations. And now that the dark secret is out, fewer people are enrolling in law school.

The truth is, in this economy where money, jobs and clients are becoming scarce, everyone feels entitled to something. Too often, I hear about a small-time outfit posting a job ad on Craigslist for an associate position but only candidates from top law schools with top grades, law review and some years of professional experience will be invited for an interview. But at the interview, the applicant learns that he will work 60 hours per week and will receive a princely salary of $30,000 per year and get “unparalleled experience from one of the top attorneys in the country.” That is one entitled employer. And don’t get me started on academics who think tenure means lifetime employment teaching two to three classes per semester with paid sabbaticals.

Over the years, the entitlement schtick has been beaten to death but is resurrected in conversations once in a while. It doesn’t make sense to use the entitlement snark on law school graduates complaining about unemployment when they are leaving with over $200,000 and even $300,000 in student loan debt. They need a high-paying job in order to avoid being a debt slave for the rest of their lives. Did they exercise bad judgment by going to law school? That’s very possible. But law school graduates and new attorneys need help. They feel abandoned by their profession. Lecturing them on entitlement is not going to make their debt go away nor find them a job.

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The Baby Boomers Are The Greediest Generation. During their prime, the Boomers had it good. They had free love in the ’60s without the AIDS. They enjoyed disco in the ’70s. They had the benefit of low taxes and high employment during the ’80s. And thanks to Viagra, they can relive the ’60s in their sixties.

A common complaint from millenials and some Generation-Xers is that the Baby Boomer attorneys have become greedy, selfish and condescending. They won’t share or refer out clients and refuse to mentor new attorneys. They want new attorneys to suffer because they are ungrateful punks who didn’t experience the drudgery of life thanks to their helicopter parents.

Some young attorneys are calling for Boomer attorneys to either reduce their practice and spend more time teaching young attorneys how to practice law.  A few are doing that. But is it reasonable to expect an entire demographic to change their ways?

Some older attorneys do not want to retire. They love what they do, are at the top of their profession and have some good years left. Most of them worked hard over the years to achieve their level of success. Who are we to tell them to step aside? As long as they are able to serve their clients properly, they should be allowed to practice law for as long as they want.

Also, many older attorneys want to retire but can’t. Their retirement savings have been nearly wiped out thanks to the good folks at Enron and whoever caused the AIG meltdown. Or they may have used it to pay their kids’ student loans. Many have to continue working to support themselves and their unemployed (and possibly unemployable) children. Some are still paying back their own student loans.

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A Truce. What I wrote above shouldn’t be anything new. Many solo and small firm attorneys, young and old, are suffering. But instead of addressing the systemic problems that are causing it, we are at war with each other. Why? Because it’s easier. It’s easier to pick on the young attorneys because they don’t talk back, at least not publicly. It’s easier to give vague advice like “work hard” and “network” rather than investing time in someone else’s success. It’s easier for young attorneys to text or tweet “OMG, he’s an old greedy fart who doesn’t want to share. LOL :P” rather than accept criticism and making their own rain. Meanwhile, the public is reading about our suffering and laughing at us.

My hope is that as we move into 2015, the young and old will come to a truce and stop the bickering. It doesn’t require Herculean effort. Answer a newbie’s question without telling someone to refer it to someone competent. Offer to help an older attorney with grunt work. At the very least, stop the snark.

Once we come to an understanding, we will be in a position to come together and stand up against greater forces that threaten the viability and the autonomy of small-firm practice. I will address them next week.

Shannon Achimalbe was a former solo practitioner for five years before deciding to sell out and get back on the corporate ladder. Shannon can be reached at [email protected].

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