Another home-grown associate is leaving my group… we experienced at least 2/3 attrition in 2021 and I thought I had grown used to this, but it still got me feeling a little down. We weren’t particularly close and I think it still makes sense for me to stay with my group for now, but can’t help feeling unmotivated with almost everyone around you leaving…

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Biglaw has become a game of last associate standing. You should be motivated by everyone leaving because it only improves your chances at making partner.

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Just devote your life to clients who don’t give a shit about you in lieu of family. Work 80 hours weeks for 15 years. So rewarding

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Sucks but flip side is it should be an opportunity to get more matters / chances at bat

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I know this theoretically improves partnership chances, but I’m still pretty junior and not interested in making partner anyways…Wondering if anyone has coped with similar situations and leveraged this to their benefit (establishing firmer boundaries, pushing back unwanted work, etc.)

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The work isn’t going to reduce with everyone else leaving. But the power really was within you all along. What are they going to do, fire the only junior with any experience at the firm/with their clients because the junior didn’t want to pull an all-nighter? If you want to set more boundaries and push back more, do it. If you’re doing decent work and billing around 40/week you’re enough of a value add already that your job should be safe.

I was in the same position about a year ago, having lost all mid/senior associates (and at the time, I ended up being the most senior associate left standing, even as only a third year). I was extremely unmotivated and disheartened for months and slipped unto an emotional rut. However, I’ve been able to contribute to redefining associate culture in a lot of ways since then - I have been actively involved on our hiring committee and have a weighted say in who we bring on, and have enjoyed resetting certain group norms, for instance around hours expectations, vacation time, balance/boundaries and etc. Think of it as a blank slate and an opportunity to actively create a more ideal workplace for yourself and new hires.

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Amazing! I'm in the same position. People who didn't know me before definitely know me now lol. Do you feel like you get push back or support as you ask for change?

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Maybe there is a reason they are all leaving that you just aren’t quite seeing yet given how junior you are. I know big law is a revolving door but 2/3 attrition in a year is crazy..

Yeah…this is part of the reason I’m feeling so unmotivated, I feel like I’m missing something by not leaving (most of my class have left as well and heavier attrition among more senior classes)

I was the last associate in my class year at my group standing and left in 2021. I maybe could have made partner but wasn’t worth several more years of being absolutely slammed as one of the few remaining homegrown associates while also being expected to mentor laterals and also juniors / summers.

If I were a senior associate with only a couple of years to partnership consideration, that may have altered my decision. But as a midlevel with several more years to go it wasn’t worth the slog.

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