Lexpert Magazine

52 LEXPERT MAGAZINE | APRIL 2016 | GENERATIONAL CHANGE | Of those presiding over the legal spend at Fortune 100 companies, roughly 20 per cent were Gen-Xers, born between the mid- 1960s and the mid-1980s. at jumped to 30 per cent of in-house counsel at the more tech-heavy NASDAQ- listed companies. "When you saw the data in a table, visu- ally, it was so impactful," says Morse. "You could see that the law firms were not shi- ing at the same rate as the client base. "Whether it's general corporate Amer- ica, represented by the Fortune 100, or the NASDAQ, which has a lot more tech companies that skew a little less risk averse, it was so prevalent. ere's a dis- connect between what's going on in law firm leadership versus what's going on in the client-base leadership. It really shied our conversation." At a time when corporate law firms are struggling under client cutbacks and in- creasingly scrapping for work, Morse says what she saw persuaded her that the age divide should become part of a firm's basic client-facing strategies. "Smart law firms out there are including age as one of the defining measures of di- versity. When we're looking at pulling to- gether a client team, going out to meet with people or putting together panels, writing a client alert – anything that is forward facing – we take great care to make sure the genders are represented and that we're representing diversity like creed and colour, recognizing LGBTQ. What we are saying is that the generations have to be part of that diversity as well." e data that Morse pulled so painstak- ingly is from late 2013 and comes from American companies and law firms. Are the demographics any different here? Hard Teasdale, who chairs his firm's global franchise and distribution group, says Mil- lennials in their 20s to mid-30s are an en- tirely different story. Most work to live, not live to work. ey're happy with a solid six-figure in- come and genuinely care about things like telecommuting, flex time, pro-bono work and parental leave. Not all care as much about the partner track. "Millennials are a lot less attached to fi- nancial reward," he says. "ey want to be paid their fair share but, compared with previous generations, they're a lot less at- tached to the material objects of this world than they are to the quality of the work that they want to do and the position they want to achieve. "Obviously they don't want to be under- paid but they're much more drawn to the quality of the environment, of the relation- ships and being recognized for their contri- butions to the success of their firm or their company if they're in-house." Some Baby Boomers, who dominated law firms for the last 30 years, have difficul- ty with the new mindset, he acknowledges, saying they may perceive it as entitled. "e workplace has changed. You can't just dictate and order like you would in the army in the old days. ere's a lot more collegiality and a recognition, especially between the Gen-Xers and the Millenni- als, of the teamwork spirit. I'm not sure if the teamwork spirit was applied a lot by the previous generations. "I'm just using my own experience but back in the day when I was a young law- yer in a big firm, the partners really had their own little business and they had their entourage. ey just dictated how things were." numbers are not available, but conversa- tions with a number of people in different law firms suggest not one iota. LARGE CORPORATE LAW firms everywhere are a generational stew. e last wave of Boomers, or those in their mid-50s, is largely eschewing early retirement, stay- ing put to top off bank accounts and suc- cessful careers. As senior partners, many are hanging on to clients and billings. Gen-Xers are poised to step in – the truth is some have been for a decade or more – and can feel the first wave of Mil- lennials, now in its mid-30s, starting to breathe down their necks. New generations are grinding up against older ones. Stéphane Teasdale, who practises in the Montréal office of Dentons Canada LLP, identifies himself as a late Boomer. He says one of the challenges is that the groups have sharply differing styles. "e Gen-Xers want to be officers more quickly than the old generation like me, who are used to being very good soldiers," he says. "We were very patient and waited for our time of glory. e Gen-Xers are much more impatient and want to get where we are much more quickly. "So we've had to adapt to that reality and make space for them. If we don't, they'll leave and go somewhere better suited to what they're looking for." While Gen-Xers, like everyone, have to wait until they meet the firm's partnership criteria, the moment they do, "they're very antsy and very enthusiastic and demand- ing," Teasdale says. "ey feel it's their due. ey worked very hard for it and if they don't get it, there better be a very good rea- son or they'll look somewhere else." STÉPHANE TEASDALE, DENTONS CANADA LLP "The Gen-Xers want to be officers more quickly than the old generation like me, who are used to being very good soldiers. We were very patient and waited for our time of glory. The Gen-Xers are much more impatient and want to get where we are much more quickly. So we've had to adapt to that reality and make space for them. If we don't, they'll leave and go somewhere better suited to what they're looking for."

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