Making
it
to
midlevel
in
Biglaw
isn’t
easy,
especially
when
the
vast
majority
of
what
you
know
is
pandemic
and
post-pandemic
Biglaw
life.
Today’s
midlevels
—
third-,
fourth-
and
fifth-year
associates
—
worked
incredibly
long
hours
during
the
uncertain
times
COVID-19
brought
upon
the
legal
profession
and
the
world
at
large,
and
then
they
were
thrust
back
into
office
life
they
knew
little
about
for
an
ever-increasing
number
of
days.
That
is,
of
course,
no
easy
task,
but
if
you did make
it
to
your
firm’s
midlevel
ranks
during
the
past
few
years,
it
was
arguably
more
difficult
than
ever.
Associates
crave
training
and
mentorship
opportunities,
but
not
every
Biglaw
firm
has
been
able
to
fulfill
their
end
of
the
bargain.
The American
Lawyer just
released
its
midlevel
associates
survey,
and
as
noted
by
Dan
Roe, “the
sheer
existence
of
a
mentorship
program
or
formal
training
doesn’t
guarantee
that
midlevel
associates
are
being
adequately
mentored.”
He
goes
on
to
explain
that
today’s
midlevels
are
seeking
out
guidance,
but
that
some
programs
are
missing
the
mark:
When
given
the
opportunity
to
expand
on
how
they
felt
about
their
firms,
midlevels
talked
about
mentorship
more
than
nearly
every
other
topic,
including
compensation.
…Indeed,
midlevels
were
quick
to
differentiate
between
the
roll-out
of
firmwide
or
practice-wide
training
efforts
and
the
importance
of
having
relationships
with
more-senior
attorneys. “Provide
actually
effective
mentoring
as
opposed
to
formal
mentoring
programs
that
feel
forced
and
do
not
contribute
much,”
said
one
Latham
&
Watkins
midlevel.The
challenge
for
partners,
of
course,
is
that
they
already
have
extensive
demands
on
their
time,
and
large
associate
classes
in
recent
years
have
resulted
in
even
more
midlevels
for
each
partner
to
look
after.
Therefore,
some
associates
suggested
that
firms
recognize
mentorship
contributions
when
considering
who
to
promote.
To
come
up
with
these
results,
Am
Law
asked
midlevel
associates
to
evaluate
how
satisfied
they
are
with
their
firm
on
a
variety
of
different
questions:
compensation
and
benefits;
training
and
guidance;
relations
with
partners
and
other
associates;
interest
in
and
satisfaction
level
with
the
work;
the
firm’s
policy
on
billable
hours;
and
management’s
openness
about
firm
strategies
and
partnership
chances.
Overall,
midlevels’
satisfaction
was
flat
compared
to
last
year,
at
4.371
out
of
5.
Why
could
that
have
been?
As
noted
by
Am
Law,
while
billable
hours
are
up
to
1,951
annually,
average
base
salary
was
“mostly
flat,”
up
just
a
hair
to
$290,740.
Total
average
bonuses,
however,
increased
by
nearly
$10,000
to
$58,046.
Mentorship
was
a
“bright
spot”
on
the
survey,
however:
Midlevels
rated
their
relationships
with
partners
at
4.45
out
of
5
points
on
average,
higher
than
they
rated
every
other
category
(including
the
importance
of
their
work,
compensation
and
benefits,
communications
from
management,
billable
hours
and
partner
track
clarity)
besides
relationships
with
fellow
associates
and
firm
attitudes
toward
pro
bono.More
than
two-thirds
of
midlevels
said
they
were
getting
the
right
amount
of
feedback,
while
28%
said
they
were
getting
too
little.
Meanwhile,
91%
said
they
had
a
mentor
of
some
sort,
while
9%
didn’t.
That
said,
let’s
get
down
to
the
rankings.
The
full
list
is
available here,
but
these
are
the
firms
that
make
the
top
20
in
terms
of
midlevel
satisfaction:
-
O’Melveny
&
Myers -
Blank
Rome -
Morgan
Lewis -
Gibson
Dunn -
Akin
Gump -
Winston
&
Strawn -
Munger
Tolles -
McDermott
Will -
Patterson
Belknap -
Baker
&
Hostetler -
Paul
Hastings -
Sheppard
Mullin -
Finnegan
Henderson -
Fish
&
Richardson -
Mayer
Brown -
Alston
&
Bird -
Clifford
Chance -
Loeb
&
Loeb -
Cahill
Gordon -
Jenner
&
Block
Congratulations
to
all
the
firms
that
made
the
list
—
and
to
the
midlevels
who
have
jobs
they’re
relatively
happy
with,
all
things
considered.
Who
knows,
maybe
in
the
future
they’ll
enjoy
their
Biglaw
firms
even
more
if
they
receive
the
mentorship
and
guidance
they’ve
been
yearning
for.
The
2025
Midlevel
Associates
Survey:
The
Rankings
[American
Lawyer]
Engaged
Mentors
Can
Make
or
Break
the
Midlevel
Associate
Experience
[American
Lawyer]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
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questions,
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