As a law firm manager, one of the first things you must figure out is who you want to work with in your firm. You also need to determine who your firm represents because you have to match up your clients with the perfect lawyers within your firm.
When creating the perfect match-up with clients and lawyers, it all comes down to comfort. So here is a quick look at some of the pros and cons of having younger partners in your law firm.
Not as Costly
One of the biggest benefits to having younger lawyers within your firm is they don’t bill as much as older ones. The reason why is they aren’t as experienced as other lawyers, so they can’t charge the same rates.
At the same time, these younger ones won’t charge minimums for phone conversations or other work. As a result, clients have realized that they aren’t always getting what they pay for for the older, more expensive partners.
Better Availability
Another plus to hiring younger partners is their availability. These younger, less experienced lawyers often have fewer clients than the older partners. A great thing about having a smaller client base is that they can better meet the clients’ needs and requirements.
Younger partners have more time to focus on their clients’ problems and issues because they aren’t juggling too many cases at once. In addition, the fewer cases they are working on, the easier it is to remember the small details of that case, which helps provide a better outcome.
Competence
Perhaps the most important thing potential clients look at in a lawyer is how competent they are. They want to trust that the partner they are working with is capable of handling their case. Just because a lawyer is young doesn’t mean that they aren’t competent. Experience doesn’t even guarantee that a lawyer is competent.
One of the best things about hiring a young partner is their ability to solve problems and the innovative ways they go about doing it. As a result, they can often add value to a case in ways older lawyers can’t.
Not as Experienced
One of the biggest disadvantages to having a young partner in your law firm is they are not as experienced. Younger attorneys haven’t been around long enough to experience things. They might be brilliant lawyers, but it’s nearly impossible to use their talents without the experience behind them.
The more experienced an attorney is, the more they have seen both inside and outside the courtroom. The more they have seen, the better they can deal with things that might come up. With an experienced lawyer, they have resources and networks that younger ones don’t. This allows them to quickly figure out any issues that might come up with a case.
Editor’s note: Nothing in this article means to imply that it is advisable or even acceptable to discriminate against older workers. Simply mean that there is an advantage to hiring interns at a lower salary as well as hiring at a lower rate for less experienced attorneys.
