Biglaw, In-House Counsel

Understanding The Lawyer Generation Gap, Or Millennials Are Way Too Obsequious

How can you trust these Millennials?

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There’s a lot of Millennial bashing in the media and most of it’s stupid. Boiled down to its essence, hating on Millennials amounts to calling them weak for being on the losing end of the financial crisis every other generation dropped on them. Throw in a dig about using their phones too much and you’ve got a fully formed and perfunctory op-ed that the New York Times will gladly publish.

But there is a problem with the Millennials out there that no one is talking about. They are way, way, way too nice.

At the Association of Corporate Counsel annual meeting, a lively panel discussion tackled the generational gaps in the practice of law in Bridging Generational Gaps: How to Reveal and Deal with Implicit Bias, featuring Ryan Evans, Director, Corporate Counsel at Jack in the Box; Elizabeth Henries, Corporate Counsel at Donna Karan; Welly Tantono, Country Counsel at Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific; and moderated by Camille Olson of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

It’s a timely topic now that the workplace is as age diverse as ever before. Whether you want to blame medical science or the gutting of the social safety net for seniors, around 18 percent over workers over 50 say they have no desire to ever retire. Just one more obstacle for the next generation hoping to get their bite at the apple! If offices are going to thrive, everyone needs to understand their coworkers and, most importantly, avoid letting their implicit biases poison the workplace.

The Builders: This is the moniker the panel gave those born before 1945. They’re not quite the Greatest Generation, and they weren’t old enough to fight in WWII, but they came of age during the conflict or the Depression, giving them, generally, a heightened sense of dedication and sacrifice.

The Builders respect hierarchy and loyalty — qualities that workplaces had back when they started out — and want to be consulted based on their experience as workers who’ve earned their stripes. The Boomers describe these workers as too structured, which is some serious Oedipal stuff right there. The Gen Xers tend to appreciate the Builders but think they need to be more adaptive. Meanwhile Millennials think they’re trustworthy and brave and good leaders. Jesus, bootlickers.

The Boomers: According to the panel, these folks are enjoy being on teams and “proving themselves to the team.” That seems like a fancy way of saying “narcissists,” but to each their own. Just to underscore this, the panel explained that Boomers are uniquely driven by affirmation of their contributions. But they hold 70 percent of the disposable income in the country, so we’re all at their mercy.

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The Builders think Boomers are too open, Xers say they lack work-life balance and have skewed priorities, and the Millennials think they’re cool and up-to-date on the new music. Seriously, what is up with these kids?

Gen Xers: Global thinking, work-life balance, self-reliance, and a sharp distrust of corporations. They “see problems and want to fix them.” Like, you know, good people.

The Builders don’t like that Gen X doesn’t respect the beaten path. Is it just mean or would the Builders make wonderful ants? Millennials think Gen X is “too negative.” Well at least the Millennials could be bothered to criticize one generation. But the most precious reaction came from the Boomers who feel Gen X is “sometimes too direct and hurt people’s feelings.” Damn right, get over it snowflakes.

Millennials: The most diverse generational segment and, finally, the one most represented in the workforce. They’re open to new ideas of how to achieve and even though no one plans to be with any one employer long-term, they have a pro-business attitude and tend to like their companies.

It’s a generation inspired by civic duty, community, tech, and — as the above suggests — optimism. How?!?!? They’ve grown up in Satan’s dumpster fire! The economy robbed them of their jobs, they get routinely crapped on by every hack with a keyboard, and they’ve come out of this happy? Perhaps they really are a redux of the Builders. Great Depression/Great Recession. WWII/War on Terror. There’s something there. The Builders certainly see that kinship, describing Millennials as smart and well-behaved. The Boomers think “they need more personal attention than we did,” which seems impossible. Xers think not community focused enough, probably because they’re too corporate. Tellingly, no one thinks they’re the layabouts that make the Sunday op-eds.

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But really, this is the problem with the Millennials no one is focusing on — how can you trust these Pollyannas?

Perhaps that’s too Gen X of me.

HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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