With demand for legal work expected to decline further this year, firms must place greater focus on client engagement and outstanding legal service delivery. Clients expect the best talent working on their matters at every level and want strong, long-standing relationships with their legal teams. But, with both partner and associate-level attrition on the rise, with 42% of firms seeing an increase in attrition and lateral hiring at the partner level over the past 12 months, rising to 49% at the associate level, firms need to do more to retain their best talent and reduce turnover to keep clients happy and protect profitability. 

Providing your legal talent with more access to career enhancing opportunities can help you to drive profits by: 

1. Retaining your best talent.
   Considering the significant cost of associate replacement (estimated between $200k-$500k), giving your lawyers the freedom and flexibility to work on matters that meet both their interests and unique skillsets is proven to improve talent retention. This not only ensures the preservation of valuable client relationships but reduces profit loss created by recruitment and training new employees. 
   
   
2. Saving partner time.
   One quarter of firms say they still rely on lawyers and partners to decide how to staff their matters. With a searchable view of team skill sets, relationships and capacity, you can allocate the most appropriate resource to a matter in less time - saving valuable time for partners to focus on high-level responsibilities, whether you have a resource management function or not. 
   
   
3. Improving client engagement.
   Low turnover, a more diverse workforce and happier, more skilled lawyers working on client matters can lead to improved turnaround times, higher quality work and stronger client relationships. All of this will help with client retention in a tougher market. 

Here’s what leading industry experts are saying on this topic… 

• Retaining clients, profit, and lawyers with proactive talent management 
• The cost of associate turnover 
• Big law’s record-breaking diversity gains shows industry’s commitment to progress 
• Legal resource management – the present and the future impact on law firms 
• 1 in 4 big law associates plan to leave within the year

How can you help your firm achieve this?

BigHand Resource Management is a legal work allocation and resourcing tool that allows you to identify resources, forecast utilization, manage workloads, and add structure to career development for lawyers. Here are just some of the big benefits:  

• Save time resourcing your matters by identifying the most suitable resource in an instant, with suitability ratings 
• Effectively track and monitor your teams’ activities to optimize resource utilization within the workbook – offering a detailed view of each individual’s utilization levels and availability 
• Empower your lawyers by allowing them to actively input their skills, industry experiences, client and partner relationships, and interest areas for professional growth through the skills matrix 
• Allow your associates to self-serve meaningful career opportunities through the opportunities board, granting them autonomy to explore, apply for, and engage in diverse projects aligned with their interests, skills, and career aspirations