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What would motivate young lawyers to stay in their current role?
New research that found half of young lawyers are considering leaving their current role in the next five years has questioned what these lawyers are most excited about for their future legal careers and what would motivate them to stay.
Naomi Neilson
To understand what would drive young lawyers away from their current workplace, the International Bar Association (IBA) asked more than 3,000 practitioners what most excited them about the law and what would attract them to either stay in their current roles or seek a new workplace, legal or otherwise, in the next five years.
“Reported levels of enthusiasm appears to decrease with age. Twenty-five per cent of respondents aged 25 and under stated that they were excited about the possibility of continuing their learning, compared to just 14 per cent of respondents from the 36-40 age bracket. However, this survey results show the excitement about the challenges ahead and being part of the law evolving increases with age,” IBA found.
In total, 33 per cent of respondents said they wanted to learn and expressed their desire to continue challenging themselves. A further 20 per cent wanted to develop their career, and 17 per cent reported being excited about witnessing and being part of the evolution of the law, especially when it came to technology and innovation.
In Australia specifically, lawyers were most excited about the opportunity to learn and grow, followed by being challenged and being part of the law’s evolution. Interestingly, having a good salary was ranked fourth, despite many lawyers who reported wanting to leave their current role citing salary as their main reason.
The youngest respondents also reported an interest in travel and regular career and mental health support. Opportunities to travel were cited by 37 per cent of those aged 25 and under, compared to just 28 per cent of those aged 36 to 40, and regular career support was cited by 31 per cent of those aged under 25 and under.
Commenting on the findings, IBA president Sternford Moyo said: “The young lawyers of today are the senior leaders of tomorrow, so understanding their concerns will help to shape the profession for the future. Relevant across the globe, this research should be carefully considered with action in mind.”
Naomi Neilson
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
You can email Naomi at:
