Recent coverage by The American Lawyer presents a somewhat grim evaluation of law firm leadership, highlighting that the role has become more challenging, and turnover rates amongst law firm leaders have increased. In fact, more firms are now transitioning to dual-leader structures, largely due to a decline in job satisfaction and an increase in burnout (American Lawyer) .
However, this perspective may, in fact, be more predictive than descriptive of the current situation. Examination of Am Law 100’s top leader turnover data, inclusive of the recent announcement of leadership changes at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (American Lawyer), suggests that though turnover is indeed on the rise, increased dissatisfaction or burnout may not be primarily why leaders are leaving their positions.
On the contrary, an analysis from former Big Law partner Paul Denis highlights that the frequency of leadership departures in recent times may be less influenced by satisfaction levels, and more attributable to the increasing tenure length of these leaders
(American Lawyer). Market factors seem to have played a role in delaying leader departures, implying that these departures may have been overdue rather than spontaneous reactions to job dissatisfaction or burnout.