“So, tell me what you want, what you really, really want “
~ Spice Girls
Have you thought about what type of people law firms really, really, want to hire? I mean, after you drill down past the marketing and human resources departments, and contemplate the type of things that even the Partners are afraid to admit behind closed doors.
Partners at every firm will say that they want lawyers who are intelligent, practical, efficient, collaborative, and productive. At smaller firms, they may also want people who are entrepreneurial and sociable, while at large firms they may attach more value to other skill sets.
Law firms are not super shy about publicizing the attributes that they want to see in their lawyers. But there is a whole subtext that never gets spoken about because to do so would be socially unacceptable or even illegal, and it does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out. One must only look at who is promoted through the ranks of law firms, who is kicked to the curb, and who jumps out to save themselves.
Let’s be frank. Law firms prefer lawyers who bill more than those who bill less. Who bills more? That is easy. People who have fewer personal demands on their time. They would be:
- People who do not have children.
- Parents who farm out the care of their children to spouses, grandparents, or third parties.
- Younger folks who do not have aging parents to take care of.
- Healthy people.
- Folks with fewer outside interests or commitments, such as social engagements, involvement with their religious communities, and charitable endeavours. (Just to be clear, I am not talking about social engagements that are intended to generate business. Law firms like those just fine.)
If we are going to be blunt, this can often mean men, as opposed to women who tend to take on more childcare and elder care. And if anyone is looking for proof, I need only to point to the fact that, in both Canada and the United States, 50% of law school graduates are women, but 75% of Partners are men.
Do law firm Partners sit in a room and decide not to hire (or to terminate the employment of) women, parents, or older folks, or people with physical limitations? Of course not. They are not ageist or sexist or biased against those whose health is less robust. They never talk about such things. They don’t even think about such considerations. But they do talk about billable hours, and willingness to do whatever it takes to keep the clients satisfied, and the fact that long hours come with the territory. They do not need to say the unsavoury stuff out loud.
I do want to be clear that I do not think that lawyers are any worse than other professionals or businesspeople. But, when it comes to human rights, shouldn’t we be better?
This article was originally published by Law360 Canada, part of LexisNexis Canada Inc.