Are pandemic-era midlevels satisfied with Biglaw’s culture?
Making it to midlevel in Biglaw isn’t easy, especially when almost all you know is pandemic Biglaw life. Today’s midlevels — third-, fourth- and fifth-year associates — worked incredibly long hours during the uncertain times COVID-19 brought upon the legal profession and the world at large, and now they’re being brought back to the office in the name of a culture they’ve never really had the opportunity to fully experience.
That is, of course, no easy task, but if you did make it to your firm’s midlevel ranks during the past few years, it was arguably more difficult than ever — and these associates just aren’t feeling it anymore. The American Lawyer just released its midlevel associates survey, and as noted by Dan Roe, “a return to pre-pandemic norms isn’t cutting it for the first full generation of midlevels to launch their careers during COVID-19.” He goes on to explain that today’s midlevel simply aren’t yearning to go back to Biglaw’s pre-pandemic norms:
If you’re a Big Law partner trying to understand why your midlevel associates aren’t rising to the occasion the way you did, think back to how things were back in the day.
Got it? Now forget it all.
Today’s elder midlevels—fifth-year associates—had six months on the job at most before COVID-19 shut the world down. Fourth-years were the first class to take the bar exam online. Third-year associates joined during the peak of the Delta variant.
In other words, they have almost no frame of reference regarding pre-pandemic life in Big Law.
To come up with these results, Am Law asked midlevel associates to evaluate how satisfied they are with their firm on a variety of different questions: compensation and benefits; training and guidance; relations with partners and other associates; interest in and satisfaction level with the work; the firm’s policy on billable hours; and management’s openness about firm strategies and partnership chances.
Overall, midlevels seem to be a little happier compared to last year, with satisfaction increasing from 4.312 to 4.364 out of five. But was that because their year may have been easier? As noted by Am Law, billable hours fell 3.5% on average since the 2023 survey came out, while annual billable requirements were flat at 1,932 hours on average. Despite their slightly higher satisfaction, there may still be trouble in paradise:
Not all indicators of midlevel satisfaction improved, however. Fewer midlevels said their firms offered flexible work arrangements, mental health services, and onsite or accessible health care services.
Firms may also be tightening up policies on billable hours, with midlevels indicating that fewer firms were offering billable credit for shadowing partners, professional development and pro bono. Perhaps most telling of all: The likelihood of midlevels to stay at their current firm in two years dropped by 0.3 on a 0-to-5 scale.
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That said, let’s get down to the rankings. The full list is available here, but these are the firms that make the top 25 in terms of midlevel satisfaction:
1. O’Melveny & Myers
2. Blank Rome
3. Morgan Lewis
4. McDermott Will & Emery
5. Proskauer Rose
6. Gibbons
7. Kirkland & Ellis
8. Goulston & Storrs
9. Baker & Hostetler
10. Mayer Brown
11. Clifford Chance
12. Gibson Dunn
13. Akin
14. Susman Godfrey
15. Kramer Levin
16. Eversheds Sutherland
17. Fried Frank
18. Snell & Wilmer
19. Munger Tolles
20. Paul Hastings
21. Cahill Gordon
22. Manatt Phelps & Phillips
22. Sullivan & Worcester
24. Fish & Richardson
25. Sheppard Mullin
Congratulations to all the firms that made the list — and to the midlevels who have jobs they’re relatively happy with, all things considered. Who knows, maybe they’ll grow to enjoy the Biglaw culture they never knew during the pandemic years through time spent at the office.
The 2024 Midlevel Associates Survey: The Rankings [American Lawyer]
Amnesia: How to Keep Your Midlevel Associates Happy [American Lawyer]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.