What Millennial Lawyers Want From Their Careers

Work-life balance and remote work policies have become rallying cries among many young attorneys in the last few years, and a recent ATL survey bears out the importance of these elements in today’s workplaces.

In the latest of our series of millennial surveys conducted with Major, Lindsey & Africa, we asked lawyers about dozens of topics, including their priorities, career aspirations, and perspectives on law firm culture. According to the respondents, most of whom work in Biglaw, the two most important factors when evaluating a potential employer are compensation and work-life balance. 

At the same time, over half of the lawyers surveyed said they would trade compensation for more time off or reduced billable hours. And nearly everyone — almost 90 percent of respondents — would like to work from home at least a few days a week. Although more associates than partners expressed a desire to work remotely full-time, 84 percent of partners said they want to work from home at least part of the time.

In fact, with respect to work-from-home policies, the gender disparities are more striking than those based on the attorneys’ positions. Almost 30 percent of women would like to work entirely from home; among men, the most common preference was two remote days per week. Twenty percent of male respondents said they would prefer to work full-time in the office, compared to just 6 percent of female respondents. 

The survey, which received more than 1,500 responses, underscores other differences based on gender, race, position, or generation — while also revealing areas in which lawyers were largely unified in their views.

For more insights and a detailed look at the survey results, download a free copy of the report.