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.
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.
Chris
Kathryn
