Of the associates who left their law firms in 2023, a whopping 82% of those had been with their firm for five years or less — marking an all-time high, according to a report released in April by the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education.
The departure rate for associates leaving their law firms within four years was 72%.
The percentage of associates leaving within a year decreased compared to previous years with variations based on the type of hire. Only 5% of laterals departed within a year, whereas 1% of entry-level associates left within the same timeframe.
The Foundation has produced this signature report for over 20 years.
“This new data reveals an intriguing combination of macro reversions to pre-pandemic levels, but marked changes within hiring and departures as both firms and talent recalibrate to a changed recruiting landscape,” said Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, president and CEO of the NALP Foundation, in a release. “We also continue to see troubling disparities in some of the data for specific cohorts; for example, the ongoing higher attrition rate for associates of color than their peers.”
The 2023 findings from 128 participating firms in the U.S. and Canada, reflect data from 5,236 associate hires and 3,875 associate departures.
The findings also revealed an overall 2023 associate attrition rate of 18%, continuing the decline from 2020’s 20% and 2021’s historically high 26%.
Overall hiring has now returned to pre-pandemic levels, with firms also increasing their rehiring of former associates.
While the overall attrition rate decreased slightly from the previous year, there were disparities based on gender and race.
The attrition rate for female associates was slightly higher (19%) than male associates (17%), and associates of color (24%) experienced a higher attrition rate compared to their white counterparts (16%).
Firms categorized nearly half of associate departures as “unwanted” from the firm’s perspective, indicating a shift from previous years.
The rate of “desired” departures, from the firm’s viewpoint, increased to 33%, suggesting varying reasons for associate exits, including performance-related factors and strategic headcount adjustments.
The report is available for purchase here: https://www.nalpfoundation.org/bookstore
