Association of Legal Administrators Leaders Talk Law Firm Hiring and Retention Challenges

In this exclusive Today’s Managing Partner interview, Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) leaders Amanda Koplos and Eryn Carter discuss law firm hiring and retention challenges and other topics related to the ALA’s 2024 Compensation and Benefits Survey.

The Association of Legal Administrators’ 2024 Compensation and Benefits Survey shows that 83% of firms have at least some remote staff or hybrid schedules. Yet, 61% still require in-office presence. Do you think this balance is the “sweet spot” for remote work in law firms? Will it evolve further? And who benefits most from remote work?

Amanda Koplos: What’s fascinating is that we’re still discussing this post-COVID. People regularly ask on discussion forums which roles and practice areas can work remotely. Employees, especially young associates, demand it. It’s among the top questions I hear when hiring: “How much can I work remotely?” So, as long as some firms allow it and others don’t, it’ll remain a competitive factor.

Which roles benefit most from remote work?

Amanda Koplos: Paralegals thrive remotely. They’re driven, their productivity is trackable, and they value skipping commutes. Firms also trust paralegals to log billable hours more than non-billable staff like legal assistants.

Associates won’t take jobs without some remote flexibility. While fully remote firms exist, they’re still a minority compared to traditional setups. I can think of a dozen firms that work completely remotely, but I can also think of tens of thousands that don’t.

Your report shows hiring remains challenging, with 77% of firms making changes, primarily through higher salaries. Beyond pay and remote work, what other incentives are effective?

Eryn Carter: It’s an employee’s market, and candidates—both attorneys and staff—are clear about their priorities, prompting firms to adjust compensation and incentives proactively. Beyond pay, firms are enhancing family and parental leave policies to attract and retain talent, especially compared to more traditional competitors. This shift addresses both recruitment and retention challenges as firms refine strategies based on feedback and shared solutions across the industry.

Are certain roles or practice areas harder to fill?

Amanda Koplos: Yes—legal assistants are a major pain point. Earlier generations received specific training for these roles, but that pipeline has dried up. The last of the baby boomers and the first round of Gen Xers are now retiring. They represent the last groups that received legal assistant and legal secretary training as an education. Many new graduates lack critical skills, like proficiency in Word or Excel, due to reliance on tools like Google Docs. This makes hiring for these roles increasingly difficult.

We’ve talked about hiring new talent, so let’s talk more about retention, which has improved, with turnover dropping to 6.3% from 11.1% pre-2020, according to your survey. How are firms keeping employees?

Eryn Carter: People are being creative about how they spend their time and perhaps requesting certain things from the firm to maximize their productivity. This is also tangentially related to the remote work issue. How does training and development happen when there is remote work? And so as associates stay put, they are also thinking about, okay, what am I getting from this firm that I need to have to hone my skills, develop leadership, communication skills, et cetera, things that aren’t always taught in law school.

Amanda Koplos: With regards to people staying put, a lot of the big moves were happening because a lot of big dollars were being thrown around. Well, eventually, the market can’t sustain that. There has to be stabilization. So there’s been market stabilization of price, which is probably one of the key factors. And yes, we are getting much more creative with many different positions, and they all relate to each other. Letting people work more remotely is just one of the ways that we’re doing that.

Eryn Carter: Firms are also recognizing the importance of professional development opportunities outside of their organization. They are investing in their associates’ and employees’ growth through associations like ALA, which may offer resources not directly provided by the firm itself. However, there is significant value in these external resources, and the benefits from such investments ultimately benefit the firm as well.

Let’s switch things up a bit and discuss billable hours. I feel like I’ve been reading about the death of the billable hour for years.

Amanda Koplos: February will be 20 years that I’ve been in this industry, and the very first month I started, I attended a conference session on the death of the billable hour.

And yet, it’s still here. However, it seems that clients, particularly corporate clients, continue to seek alternative billing options for more predictable budgeting in in-house legal departments. The survey said that 67% of firms now offer at least one alternative billing method, with the flat rate being the most popular. How will this evolve, especially with the rise of generative AI?

Amanda Koplos: Tech spending is the fastest-growing expense in law firms. The efficiency gains from tools like document automation and AI make hourly billing unsustainable—you can’t charge for time saved by tech unless you use alternative billing. So, this shift is inevitable as firms continue investing in technology.

Eryn Carter: Our business partners also help firms adapt to new billing strategies. While the billable hour won’t disappear, its share of the “billing pie” will shrink as firms become more creative in utilizing existing and emerging resources and technologies to support alternative revenue models.