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Biglaw Firms’ Lack Of Transparency During COVID-19 Is Making Associates Anxious

Biglaw associates have been working through a pandemic for about seven months now. From their remote work environments, they’ve witnessed not just austerity measures like salary cuts, furloughs, and layoffs, but the deaths of more than 200,000 people thanks to COVID-19 in the United States alone. Anxiety and depression have set in, and Biglaw firms that aren’t being transparent with their associates are making things even worse.

How bad has it gotten? According to the American Lawyer’s 2020 Midlevel Associates Survey, more than 40 percent of respondents said they had anxiety, with three-in-four claiming their firms had negatively impacted their mental health. Summer associates who worked remotely this summer were also increasingly concerned about their mental health (about 48 percent of them said they were concerned this year, up from 39 percent last year).

What’s driving the increase in stress and anxiety is the fact that some law firms haven’t been transparent enough with their associates, which is making them feel uncertain about their job security. “Control and embargo of information [about] finances, staffing decisions, and cutbacks only breeds anxiety and reduces productivity,” said a fifth-year associate at an Am Law 100 firm in response to the Am Law Midlevel Survey. Luckily, there are things Biglaw firms can do to help their associates through these difficult times.

Transparency and communication is the most common antidote, [Anne Brafford, founder of legal well-being consultancy Aspire Legal,] said. While personal coping techniques such as exercise and mental tricks can help, the greatest influence lies in law firm leadership. That includes all partners, not just the executive committee.

“Firms that have been focusing on transparency will go a long way toward reducing anxiety,” Brafford said. “I don’t just mean firm leadership, but the day-to-day communication about what’s to being expected, how am I doing—following up.”

Firms that remain transparent with their associates — whether dealing with salary or staffing issues — will be able to provide the support these lawyers need during this time of crisis. Offer associates some certainty during an era of uncertainty. Invest meaningfully in associates’ mental health and everyone will be much happier.

The Pandemic Is Affecting Young Lawyer Mental Health, and Secrecy at Firms Doesn’t Help [American Lawyer]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.