Law Times

PAGE 12 FOCUS December 1, 2008 • Law Times They ask the questions, you just nod BY IAN HARVEY For Law Times want to work at your firm un- less you're willing to change. It's a shocking reality the law T he old world order is dead: the incoming Generation Y may not profession is starting to wrestle with, and one all employment sectors have been discovering for the last few years. Simply put, those bright- eyed graduating candidates have a view of work and work-life balance that throws out the old paradigm and substitutes a whole new way of thinking. They don't plan on staying long, maybe two or three years, they won't work within statically de- fined lines, and they see the workplace as a place to have fun and make money. They don't work for some- "They come in and they ask the questions," chuckles Brian Grant, managing part- ner of Lerners LLP in Toronto. "That's absolutely the biggest change. They want to know how many hours they're ex- pected to work — I don't recall that being asked once 10 years ago, even five years ago." Indeed, back in the day it would have been impertinent and cause to strike the can- didate's name from the list; today it's expected. 'You think, they're not even in the door yet and they're already talking about working reduced hours,' says Brian Grant. one, they work with someone; they collaborate. It's a far cry from the top- down management world most senior partners in the profes- sion grew up with when they passed the bar exam. That was a world where young lawyers joined large firms and parked their egos and their lives at the door, put their heads down, and expected to work 80 or more hours a week, and maybe, just maybe, dream of making part- ner in a decade or more. At recruiting interviews, they nervously stammered out pre- scripted answers and prayed they didn't get it wrong. No more. Today's recruit- ment interviews are a whole new ball game. ready talking about working re- duced hours," he says. But that's the way things are changing and it's not just in law; other professions, including re- tailers and service companies, are also finding they have to work harder to attract the brightest and best and retain them by go- ing further than just offering a how much pro bono work the firm does; whether it encour- ages such work; if there are arrangements to work from home; what technology is at the disposal of the lawyers; how long it takes to make partner; and what the dock- eting and billing targets are, says Grant. "You think, they're not even in the door yet and they're al- Candidates want to know desk and a paycheck. For some it means bonuses in the form of iPods; incentives in the form of parties and social activities; freedom to define their own job description and hours of work; managing by results and not in the traditional, stand-over- their-desk-with-tapping toes if they drag themselves in a few minutes after 9 a.m. In law, it's also meant a rethinking of how partner- ships are created, says Grant. "The big change here is what we call the path to partnership," says Grant. "Instead of an associ- ate being told if you work hard, 10 years from now you might be made a partner." Instead, he says, the firm has created a category of non-equi- ty partner at five years, which allows participants to share in profitability of the firm and to participate in the business of the firm. "There's also some cache for lawyers are entering the pro- fession already skilled in multi-tasking, juggling instant messages, e-mails, and other electronic communication, says Susan Wortzman at Wortzman Nickle Professional Corp. whose practice specializes in advising lawyers in the area of e-discovery and related aspects of technol- ogy such as identification, pres- ervation, collection, processing, review, and production of elec- tronically stored information. "That virtual office gives them mobility and can save them time," she says. The new generation are well still have an assistant to type their notes, write letters, and prepare documents, many younger lawyers are rolling up their sleeves them- selves, seamlessly working with e- mail and document attachments regardless of where they are. That new cohort of young Whereas many senior lawyers a young lawyer to be able to say they're a partner at Lerners," he says, adding it's also attractive to recruits who already have a cou- ple of years under their belt and want to move to a bigger firm. Technology is also an im- portant factor in allowing those newly minted lawyers to better control their work cycle. In-depth coverage of recent legislation, case law and policy developments related to Canadian and international commercial and business law issues versed in electronic libraries and online research, she says, and are able to work from al- most anywhere they have an Internet connection. It saves more than time stuck in traffic or on the GO train. It also cuts down their stress and allows them to manage their lives much more efficiently to the point where many work from home some days and oth- ers don't even live in the GTA anymore but still work for downtown clients. And that's a big change, she says, even with the 30-and 40-something lawyers in the profession now who often still print off their e-mails, resist get- ting a BlackBerry, and continue to dictate notes to an assistant for transcription. With the changing tools, at- Editor-in-Chief: Jacob S. Ziegel • Assistant Editor: Adam Ship Book Review Editor: Thomas Telfer • Regional editor and specialist editors In print and now online, this internationally renowned journal strikes the right balance between commentary on current legislative and case law developments and in-depth analysis of major issues in the corporate, commercial and international arenas. Thought-provoking articles previously published in this journal include: • Globalization and the Practice of Law – One Lawyer's • • • Perspective – Donald R. Crawshaw Reflections on the Recommendations of the Task Force to Modernize Securities Legislation in Canada: A Retail Investor Perspective – Paul Halpern and Poonam Puri Piercing the Corporate Veil and the "Pure Form" of the Corporation as Financial Innovation – Christopher C. Nicholls Legal Strategies to Profit from Peer Production – Jeremy de Beer Subscription $203 per volume • 2/yr (includes online access for one personal workstation) P/C 0310090003 • ISSN 0319-3322 • Back volumes and indices available upon request Contact your Account Manager for additional site licences For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1 800 263 2037 or 1 800 263 3269 www.canadalawbook.ca Canada Law Book is A Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd. • Free Shipping on pre-paid orders. Prices subject to change without notice, and to applicable taxes. Canadian Business Law Journal (LT 1-3X4).indd 1 LT1201 • Recovery of Unauthorized Taxes: A New Constitutional • Rights – Peter W. Hogg Kingstreet Investments: Taking a Pass on the Defence of Passing On – Benjamin Alarie Access to CBLJ Online, for one personal workstation, is included with your print subscription. Additional workstations are available for an added charge. Benefits include: quick and easy electronic access to the most current CBLJ articles; one-stop comprehensive searching of the entire CBLJ library – more than 30 years worth of material; and 24/7 access to CBLJ Online from any Internet connection. titudes are also changing. Only 50 per cent of respondents to the Canadian Lawyer Associates survey early this year on atti- tudes toward partnership say their goal is to become a partner in a law firm. Some 300 respondents from across the country split 50-50 on prioritizing partnership as a ca- reer goal, though 57 per cent of males said they wanted to make partner while 59 per cent of fe- males said they were unsure. Recognizing that shift in career goals and the power of technology to free young law- yers from their offices is part of the new challenge in recruit- ing and retaining the best and brightest talent for firms in the next decade. "But they really do want to learn and they want to know about the mentoring process which has got a lot of lip service from the [Law Society of Up- per Canada] since the dawn of time," says Grant. WHICH DIRECTION IS BEST FOR YOU? 11/26/08 2:47:05 PM RainMaker Group 110 Yonge Street, Suite 1101 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1T4 Untitled-7 1 Tel: 416-863-9543 Fax: 416-863-9757 www.rainmakergroup.ca www.lawtimesnews.com 5/29/08 1:05:49 PM LT

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