{"id":16844,"date":"2020-11-13T11:16:36","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:16:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gutenberg-atl.staging.breakingmedia.com\/legal-innovation-center\/?p=16844"},"modified":"2020-11-13T11:16:36","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T16:16:36","slug":"law-firms-benefiting-from-generational-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2020\/11\/13\/law-firms-benefiting-from-generational-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Law Firms Benefiting from Generational Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u201cEach generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.\u201d\u00a0George Orwell<\/em><\/p>\n

You may have seen the election news that in 2020, for the first time, Millennials and Gen Z (those born in 1981 or later) will equal Baby Boomers and prior generations (adults born in 1964 or earlier) as a share of all Americans eligible to vote. As an employer or manager, you might also reflect on the fact that Millennials (ages 24-39) are now the largest single segment of the workforce in the United States, with Gen Z coming on fast.<\/p>\n

What implications does this seismic demographic shift have for the small law firm?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWork-life\u00a0blend<\/em>,\u201d rather than \u201cbalance<\/em>,\u201d is the watchword for Millennial workers, according to\u00a0Your ABA<\/em>, a publication of the American Bar Association<\/a>. This means that they are not focused on\u00a0separating<\/strong>\u00a0essential, but conflicting, life activities and trying to balance them independently. Rather, they are seeking a continuum where all responsibilities, activities, and interests can be satisfied in a lower stress and more integrated manner.<\/p>\n

Complementing the ABA article, a study by\u00a0CompTIA, the world\u2019s leading tech association<\/a>,\u00a0shows that 80% of Gen Z workers aspire to use \u201ccutting edge technologies\u201d in their work, over 50% of Millennials currently use cloud-based tools for document management, and an impressive 67% say that a firm\u2019s technology is an important factor in evaluating employers.<\/p>\n

Per George Orwell, this massive cohort of new workers must certainly consider themselves to be more intelligent than their older colleagues and superiors when it comes to technology. This naturally leads Millennials to expect technical competence and up-to-date systems of potential employers. As shown by the CompTIA study, talented attorneys, paralegals, and staff gravitate towards firms using technology platforms that facilitate, rather than hinder, work-life blend.<\/p>\n

You can use Smokeball\u2019s\u00a0cloud-based legal management software<\/a>\u00a0to your advantage in this environment, making technology a feature of your firm, rather than an objection to be overcome. Smokeball can help advance work-life blend and become a competitive advantage for your firm in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n