Case study: Associate director: alternative to partnership?

Almost a year since it was first introduced, Berwin Leighton Paisner outlines the thinking behind the creation of a new role – associate director.

By Julie Gottlieb, career development manager, Berwin Leighton Paisner, and Patrick McCann, head of training and development, Berwin Leighton Paisner

The original idea for an alternative to partnership came from the associates themselves. Internal and industry-wide feedback gathered from surveys, focus groups and interview data suggested that increasingly partnership was not a goal for everyone. Lawyers wanted an alternative career option that would both acknowledge their contribution to the firm and provide further opportunities for developing their skills and career.
At BLP, lawyers who are considered eligible for the role will, typically, already be achieving a high level of performance across the range of activities expected of a senior associate. They will also be committed to working closely with the partners in their team to drive the quality and development of their practice group in one or more of the following key management areas:

Being the ‘number two’ client-relationship contact for a major client;
Co-ordinating and monitoring the coaching, mentoring, supervision and morale of more junior team members;
Managing the team’s know-how and legal technical training;
Co-ordinating and monitoring the financial-management discipline of the team.

The associate director role offers an opportunity to focus and develop in the key areas that the individual enjoys, and in which they excel, without the need to undertake the full range of responsibilities required of partnership. It also recognises (in both financial and status terms) the individual’s expertise, experience and contribution to the success of both their team and the firm.

Overcoming the obstacles

BLP’s management team recognised that one of the challenges in rolling out associate directorship was to provide clarity on what the role means for associates’ careers. It had to be made clear that associate directorship is neither a barrier nor a necessary step to partnership. It is a valid, valued and varied destination in itself. This is reflected in the financial rewards, which include a small share in the equity of the firm and the opportunity to take on management responsibilities. Roll on Friday, the legal profession news website, recently described associate directorship at BLP as “a proper alternative with six figure salaries and specifically-defined management responsibilities”, so it seems that the message has got through!

Another challenge was to ensure consistency while maintaining the flexibility that makes the role so attractive. BLP addressed this by including a comprehensive overview of the role in its career-development framework, which is the firm’s internal guide on what lawyers need to do to ensure they consistently deliver outstanding performance. The core activities for associate directors and the component tasks for each of the key management areas are set out in detail, providing clarity for the associate directors, and for associates who might aspire to develop into the role. The framework is wide enough, however, to provide an extensive menu that allows associate directors to make the role their own.

The firm has also sought to enhance the role by maintaining an ongoing dialogue with associate directors over how the role should be developed. In July 2007, for instance, BLP held its first development event for associate directors. Its objectives were to support the transition to the associate director role; highlight the challenges likely to be faced; create a network for associate directors; and outline the support available to them. For many, the highlight was the opportunity presented to exchange ideas and experiences with fellow associate directors across the firm.

Following that event, BLP asked their associate directors to assess what their new role has meant for them, both on a day-to-day basis and in terms of their longer-term career objectives.

Responses indicated that the creation of the associate director role has had a significant impact on the development of their careers and their relationship with BLP as a firm. It provides the flexibility to cater for differing career aspirations and individual strengths. However, there are certain aspects of the role that appeal to all associate directors - a recognition of past contributions, the opportunity to further develop their management skills and the ability to dovetail their individual career paths with the direction and focus of the firm.

Moving on from ‘up or out’

Without exception, associate directors feel the promotion has strengthened their ties to the firm and made them feel valued. They see it as an acknowledgment of their contribution to their practice group and firm in one or more of the key management areas, and they feel buoyed by the firm’s desire to recognise and reward them formally for the value of that contribution. They also feel that the creation of the role demonstrates a progression from an ‘up or out’ culture and a desire to retain good people within the firm. They welcome the firm’s wish to recruit lawyers with a range of different attributes and qualities, not just those who are focused on partnership as their exclusive goal.

For many the most exciting aspect of the role, however, is the opportunity it represents to progress from the senior associate role to developing a management and strategic focus in key areas that match their talents and interests. Those associate directors who are central to managing a relationship with a key client, for example, find that they continue to nurture that relationship. However, their management focus provides a platform to develop their marketing skills further and to extend the scope and effectiveness of their business-development activities with that client. It also affords them the opportunity to work closely with the partners in implementing a client-development strategy that is tailored to the needs of their individual practice group.

Similarly, associate directors whose key area relates to the supervision and mentoring of more junior team members find that the profile of their role has increased since becoming an associate director. More junior lawyers see them as a natural port of call for guidance and advice. Associates have also been keen to ask them about the role and to discuss its merits. Most of the associate directors find clients are also curious about what the role means in practice, and about the opportunity it represents to strengthen their relationship further.

Encouraging flexibility

The fact associate directorship is neither a barrier to, nor a necessary step towards partnership, means associate directors have flexibility in their approach to the role. Some use it to gain valuable management experience until they feel ready to apply for partnership. All associate directors were invited to attend BLP’s annual partners’ conference this year, and they were able to make a unique contribution to the issues on the agenda. Some extend their contribution by attending partners’ meetings and becoming involved in the overall strategy and direction of their team. In that way, if and when they feel ready to apply for partnership, the associate director role will be the perfect springboard from which to take that step.

For others, the attraction of associate directorship is that it allows them to become more involved in the management of their practice group, but only in the area or areas of their choosing and only to the extent that they feel comfortable. For those associates to whom partnership does not appeal, the creation of the role has provided an alternative route to defining career success. It allows them to maintain momentum in their careers through enhancing and developing skills that are key to the success of their practice group.

Impact on the firm

Associate directorship has had a wider impact on the firm as a whole. Jonathan Brenner, BLP’s head of recruitment, says that many external candidates express an interest in the role, and are clear when applying to BLP that it is one of the reasons they find the firm attractive. From the partners’ perspective, a candidate with strength in a management area, and the desire to use it to make a key contribution to their team, is also an attractive proposition. Similarly, many of those seeking training contracts are seeking information about the role, and have responded positively to the provision of an alternative to partnership.

Internally, it has encouraged associates to be more open about their career aspirations. At the firm’s residential career-development course for senior associates, a junior equity partner and an associate director both talk about the responsibilities and benefits of their roles and each is given equal credence. The role seems to have legitimised expressing a desire to seek a career goal other than partnership and has provided an alternative template for success.

Looking to the future

So how will the role develop in the future? Its scope and the extent of associate directors’ contribution to management issues has so far evolved on an individual basis through dialogue between the associate directors and the partners in their practice group. As more associate directors are appointed, the network will become stronger, and associate directors are likely to become a force within the firm. The profile of the role is likely to increase further as awareness of what it means in practice spreads both internally and externally.

In future the role is likely to be extended to those who have the potential and desire to fulfil the requirements of associate directorship, but have not yet had experience of management in one of the key areas. By encouraging openness about career aspirations and providing tailored training and development, the firm will be able to spot those with the potential to become successful associate directors and to support them in developing into the role. One challenge for the future is to maintain the role’s broad appeal. It will be interesting to see whether BLP makes up associate directors to partnership. For associate directors who desire partnership, but wish to wait a few years for family or other reasons, the firm will have to prove the associate director role really is no barrier to partnership. Associates are watching with interest.

Julie Gottlieb is career development manager at BLP. She can be contacted at julie.gottlieb@blplaw.com
Patrick McCann is head of training and development, also at BLP. He can be contacted at patrick.mccann@blplaw.com