BigHand, a authorized tech software program supplier, not too long ago launched a Survey and Report entitled Navigating the Million Dollar Problem, Resource management for Profitability, Client and Talent Retention. The report is predicated on responses from over 800 legislation agency leaders and professionals throughout corporations with 50 or extra legal professionals.
The report confirms what I’ve heard over and over from legal professionals, notably at smaller and midsize legislation corporations: they merely can’t discover good high quality associates, and once they do, they continuously go away for perceived greener pastures. BigHand believes, and I agree, that one answer is to higher make the most of the associates that you’ve got. And that comes down, partly, to higher useful resource allocation. As BigHand places it, it’s a $1 million drawback.
BigHand is promoting a useful resource administration software that purportedly solves that drawback.
Some Numbers
However first, some numbers from the report that replicate the useful resource allocation drawback and paint a stark image:
- 43% of project selections are made by legal professionals, and 37% are based mostly on private desire over benefit.
- 45% of the corporations surveyed report they solely have partial knowledge on the capability and utilization of their associates.
- Solely 40% have partial knowledge on the work allotted from companions to associates.
Many corporations are primarily resourcing at midnight.
The Purchasers
Eighty-six p.c of the corporations surveyed reported that consumer demand had elevated over the past yr. On the identical time, regardless of the elevated demand, 40% stated shoppers are lowering their spend, 38% are lowering the variety of corporations that they use, and 30% of the corporations believed shoppers had discovered cheaper alternate options. Most legislation corporations surveyed reported consumer attrition within the final 12 months.
In brief, there are super alternatives for corporations that may meet consumer demand. And a technique to assist do that’s to retain and appropriately make the most of associates.
The Associates
So, what in regards to the associates? It’s not fairly. The variety of associates leaving the career has nearly doubled within the final 12 months from 9% in 2024 to 17% in 2025.
The primary cause for associates’ departure is the will for hybrid working and higher work-life stability. Different elements embody a scarcity {of professional} improvement in addition to issues over wage. In keeping with the report, extra associates are transferring in-house than ever.
And clearly, when an affiliate leaves, it disrupts the standard of service. It will increase the workload for the remaining workers. It will increase recruiting and coaching prices, to not point out the lack of institutional and cultural information.
BigHand estimates that the price of dropping a third-year affiliate exceeds $1,000,000, even earlier than contemplating the impression on different legal professionals and consumer relationships. Thus, making an attempt to scale back attrition is essential for these causes alone.
And 33% of the corporations surveyed are planning to scale back fairness companions.
So, not surprisingly, 40% of the corporations surveyed need to enhance senior affiliate ranges within the subsequent yr.
A Excellent Storm
It seems like an ideal storm: extra work obtainable from shoppers, elevated competitors with emphasis on effectivity, fewer companions, and sad associates leaving in droves. No surprise legislation agency leaders hold wailing about not having high quality associates to do the work.
So, what are legislation corporations doing? Based mostly on the Survey, not a lot. As an alternative, they’re counting on legal professionals’ intestine instincts about affiliate high quality, instincts which might be usually flawed.
Why Use Information to Allocate Sources?
I do know from expertise that many useful resource allocation selections in legislation corporations are made based mostly on a associate’s perceived talents and qualities of associates, which are sometimes not solely appropriate.
This inevitably leads to underutilized associates on one hand and overutilized associates on the opposite. The overutilized associates rapidly grow to be burned out and chafe on the unfairness of the system. The underutilized affiliate, however, worries continually about their improvement and future on the agency. And maybe they need to.
A extra data-driven allocation methodology may end in utilization on a extra correct and fairer foundation and alleviate the stress of an excessive amount of or too little work, stress that drives associates to depart and prices corporations dearly.
Dave Cook, BigHand’s World Director – Useful resource Administration, agrees: “Accomplice-led resourcing with no knowledge visibility results in some associates being overloaded with work whereas others are underutilized, slowing their improvement and limiting progress alternatives.”
And There’s Extra
Along with relieving affiliate utilization stress, there are different causes for higher allocation. For instance, a lot of what’s perceived affiliate high quality is predicated on little greater than fame.
I keep in mind a state of affairs after I was a associate with an affiliate who had the fame of being underperforming. The agency was this near firing the affiliate when one other associate took the affiliate beneath their wing and moved them from the part wherein they have been working to a different fully totally different part the place that associate might mentor the affiliate. That affiliate later turned an fairness associate and had among the highest origination of any lawyer within the agency.
That, in fact, occurred by pure happenstance. But when there have been data-driven assets that would assist decide the place the wants have been and match these wants with the talent set of associates, preserving in thoughts that, because the affiliate I referred to, many have totally different talent units which might be suited to various kinds of follow.
A better have a look at utilization might assist clear up each issues and reduce attrition. It may also detect high quality points that must be addressed with an affiliate earlier than it turns into such a big drawback as within the instance that I offered.
And let’s face info. Not utilizing knowledge to drive work assignments and as an alternative letting the lawyer do it themselves usually imply legal professionals assigning work to people who appear to be them and are available from comparable backgrounds. Since most assigning legal professionals are white male companions, you get an inevitably unfair end result. In flip, the agency loses what may very well be a wonderful lawyer.
Prepare dinner places it this fashion: lawyer-based project “additionally opens the door to all types of bias. Work is never ever equitably allotted, resulting in frustration, and generally departures, from expertise that will in any other case assist the agency succeed.”
The affiliate in my instance, by the best way? A black feminine.
So, Why Not?
So, why aren’t corporations utilizing a data-driven strategy to allocating work to associates? Because the report factors out, sturdy useful resource allocation will not be one thing that legal professionals with out knowledge are good at, and it takes away from billable time. But they hold insisting on doing it themselves.
That’s as a result of most companions need the liberty to make the most of their favourite associates. They understand themselves as particular snowflakes with the distinctive skill to identify and develop expertise. They imagine that, as an alternative of knowledge, their “intestine intuition” is probably the most legitimate figuring out issue. They imagine that their work is so vital that solely one of the best associates can work on it. They usually aren’t going to surrender that management.
Secondly, too many companions are unwilling to delegate the allocation of their work to a data-driven platform and personnel who are usually not legal professionals. The thought is that that is my follow, that is my legislation agency, and you’re employed for me – so butt out. I’ve seen this hubris repeatedly, particularly from senior companions who’ve by no means had or wished to justify their useful resource selections with knowledge.
Furthermore, somewhat than wanting laborious at profession improvement and addressing issues earlier than they get too massive, too many companions are too targeted on billable hours and consumer origination to fret in regards to the improvement of associates, the lifeblood for the way forward for the legislation agency.
Conclusion
So despite the fact that data-driven useful resource allocation reduces affiliate attrition at a time when extra not fewer are wanted, reduces value and disruption, and will not directly result in higher companions, corporations are sluggish to embrace it.
However BigHand is correct; to compete successfully for brand new work and hold the shoppers and associates you will have, assets must be appropriately allotted to the best ranges based mostly upon profitability, hourly charges, and efficiencies. The easiest way to try this will not be by intestine intuition however by knowledge and analytics.
Whereas I can’t confirm all of BigHand’s findings, the core issues they determine align with what I’ve noticed repeatedly.
Does BigHand’s useful resource administration software higher allocate work? I couldn’t inform you that both. However data-driven useful resource allocation is the best concept on the proper time.
Stephen Embry is a lawyer, speaker, blogger, and author. He publishes TechLaw Crossroads, a weblog dedicated to the examination of the strain between know-how, the legislation, and the follow of legislation.
