I’m very interested in how different generations of lawyers and legal staff will affect the way law firms will operate. See Attorney 2.0 – Generation Y in Your Law Firm. Here’s my coverage of a related ILTA program called Baby Boomers and Generation X and Generation Y – Addressing Generation Gaps in Culture and Technology in the Legal Industry.
ILTA – August 28, 2008 2:00 pm
These are my notes from the ILTA program [Since I am taking paper-free notes and because there is free Wi-Fi here, I thought that I’d add the notes to the blog. Disclaimer: my notes are rough, so forgive the typos.]
From ILTA:
Title: Baby Boomers and Generation X and Generation Y – Addressing Generation Gaps in Culture and Technology in the Legal Industry – slides
Description: Are law firms dealing with the reality that there are real differences in how the various generations perceive the world, the expectations they have around technology and mobility, and how they relate to each other and member of different generations? With most law firms being run by Boomers, we need to consider the issues around the fact that most new attorneys and staff are members of gen-X, gen-Y or gen-ME.
Speaker(s): Mark Cameron Willis – Kutak Rock LLP
Matthew Willis – IKON Office Solutions, Inc.
Learning Objectives: Learn new approaches to management.
LawyerKM’s Notes:
Today’s Emerging Law Firm
- Many firms have been involved in mergers and acquisitions
Firms are operating like larger companies (they have c-level people)
There is a global practice
Competition for institutional clients
multi-generational workplace
Generation Characteristics
Traditionalist
- Characteristics:
64+ years old (5% of firm population)
traditional family values
loyalty to firm
strong work ethic - Legal practice:
not tech savvy
prefer phone vs email
traditional legal practice – value of relationships - Value to Firm:
loyal clients
relatinships in community / practice areas
good mentors (valued by younger generations) - Myths / perceptions:
perception – that this group has stopped learning
reality – they have vast knowledge
Baby Boomer
- Characteristics:
late 40-60’s (70% of law firm partners)
they surpassed the former generation many ways (e.g., first to go to college, etc.)
work your way up mentality
the “me generation” – affluent
work-a-holics - Legal practice:
loyal clients
traditional legal practice, but they embrace change dictated by their clients
client-service oriented - Value to Firm:
managing the firm
transition from traditional practice
these people run the firm - Myths / perceptions:
perception – they are obsolete
reality – they run the firm
perception – work-a-holic
reality – hard workers
Generation X
- Characteristics:
30s / 40s year old
saw 50% divorce rate growing up
7-8 career changes
consider themselves as “free agents” - Legal practice:
traditional legal training- research and writing
they question traditional firm policies
first generation to adopt technology advances (e.g., Westlaw and Lexis) - Value to Firm:
money makers
control day-to-day relationship with clients
they embrace technology - Myths / perceptions:
perception – self-centered (e.g., salary hikes)
reality – family-centered
perception – sense of entitlement
reality – unwilling to sacrifice personal life for firm
perception – “slackers”
reality – maybe, but positive response to challenges
Generation Y
- Characteristics and values:
late 20s year olds
quality of life
brought up on technology in school and in social networks
“trophy generation” – they need a reward for what they’ve done - Legal practice:
technology is the backbone of practice
diversity
few strong client relatinships
pressure to bill hours - Value to Firm:
fresh insight
resourceful and adaptable
teaching boomers and traditionalists
access to information (e.g., Findlaw) - Myths / perceptions:
perception – undisciplined
reality – they actually crave structure
perception – they challenge authority
reality – they crave to learn from their elders
perception – disrespectful
reality – they tend to treat everyone as equals
Firms Adjusting to the generation gaps:
Check out the matrix in the slides that show differences
Communications: face-to-face > telephone > email> email/text/sms
Bridging the generation gap
HR:
offices are designed to attract and keep employees (i.e., Google style vs. Stuffy NYC firm style)
quality of life – some firms have QoL committees
telecommuting
feedback that matches the generational needs
firm evaluations (the employee can offer reverse feedback)
mentoring
meaningful work
pro bono opportunities
Technology:
Education and training (training up and down, promoting new technology – wikis, web hosting, webinars, virtual conferneces)
Showed Common Craft’s Wikis in Plain English – the audience actually applauded this video – they loved it.
Technology committee – involving tech end users in tech decisions; comparing tech with corporate clients
Marketing: the new way of marketing involves blogs
LawyerKM :: Knowledge Management & Technology for Lawyers and Law Firms