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Editor's Note: This story is adapted from ALM's Mid-Market Report. For more business of law coverage exclusively geared toward midsize firms, sign up for a free trial subscription to ALM's weekly newsletter, The Mid-Market Report.

When Susman Godfrey changed its family leave policy last year, it took its cues from associates who said the rest of the market was catching up with the Texas-based firm.

“We talked about that internally and wanted to continue being a leader, and I thought about the issue as, do we go from 16 weeks to 18 weeks? Should we go from 18 weeks to 20 weeks?” said Neal Manne, a managing partner of the firm based in its Houston headquarters.

“I tried to think outside the box and thought, why don't we just make it unlimited? Let people take whatever leave they want. We have confidence in them not to abuse it,” he said.

The idea that firms can offer attorneys and staff something other than money, and that such benefits and perks can be important in the competition to attract and keep talent, appears to be commonly understood among midsize law firms.

Rethinking family leave policies is one matter, but even health benefits, perhaps taken for granted, require time and effort to get right. And there are expectations to be met.

“It is a very sophisticated process that requires a lot of time, energy and investment,” said Liz Gillmore, chief human resources officer at Cleveland-based Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, which has about 175 lawyers and about 450 employees firmwide.

Among the benefits package's newer features at the firm is an “employee health advocacy service”—a third-party entity that employees can coordinate with on filing claims and other potential difficulties. Aside from saving time, the arrangement allows employees to deal with a third party on potentially sensitive health matters that they might not want to reveal to colleagues within their firm. It costs the firm about $1 per employee per month, Gillmore said—”a really low-cost [feature] when you think about what one hour of one partner's time is worth.”

“Time is your premium product,” she said.

As for strong health benefits, it's not only desirable but also expected, and a good network is key.

“When you're bringing in a lot of laterals, you want a network that's broad enough,” Gillmore said. “When everything in your life is changing, the last thing you want to do is change your physician.”

“The nice part when you're a regional firm is you, yourself, live in the region, and you know the landscape,” Gillmore said, noting as an example that new hires living in and around Cleveland will expect a health plan that offers access to Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals. “Nothing is more expert [than] your own knowledge as a member of the community.”

She added, “as you continue to grow and get out of your market, you're going to learn by trial and error.”

Lance Kalik, co-managing partner of Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti in Morristown, New Jersey, and Tim Carr, the firm's director of administration and CFO, said the firm has had the same health insurer for 10 years, though the plans have changed. The firm evaluates all of its benefit plans annually, he said.

Kalik added, “Everyone in the country is dealing with rising health care costs.”

“At Riker Danzig, I think a very significant part of us attracting and retaining outstanding employees is the quality of life,” Kalik said. “One of the pillars of that quality of life is the benefits we offer.”

At Susman Godfrey, meanwhile, Manne took the idea for unlimited family leave to his partners, who felt committed to being a market leader, he said. The policy was adopted.

“We wanted people to take more leave, and we have seen that,” he said.

Manne said he was unsure whether the change led to a competitive advantage, but it “cemented our image as a firm that treats associates as professionals, as future partners at the firm, gives them a lot of respect and leeway in the way they structure their lives, including their personal lives.”

Benefits and perks can be seen as a point of leverage for midsize firms whose pay scales don't match those of their larger counterparts.

“I think fortunately or unfortunately people know that, as a midsize firm, we are not giving the highest salaries out there,” said Eileen Libutti, managing partner of the New York City office of 70-lawyer Lewis Johs, whose main office is on Long Island. “I think there's a lot to offer the attorneys that can make up for salaries.”

Most important among those draws, according to Libutti, is meaningful work opportunities for lawyers who want to handle important engagements, not just the document review and other background. But when it comes to perks, a little can go a long way, Libutti said, noting such benefits as birthdays off, charity drives and “bagel Fridays.”

“It has this certain level of camaraderie that isn't quantifiable,” she said. “A lot of people … seek us out because they've heard the way we treat our attorneys, the way we offer support, the camaraderie people find here.”

At 60-lawyer Denver-based firm Moye White, the firm pays for employees' health benefits in full (though a contribution is required for covered spouses and family members). The firm also offers a cafeteria plan as well as an “eco-pass,” which allows employees to use public transit at the firm's expense. There's also no set vacation limit. But family leave—two months paid and up to four months unpaid—”is critical,” said managing partner Tom List.

“We've had multiple lawyers take … leave,” he said. “We've gotten feedback that that's a critical benefit we provide.”

List said the firm's benefits package meets or exceeds the expectations of new hires, and the firm keeps a close watch on the industry, through membership to the Legal Marketing Association, which provides access to information on salaries and benefits other firms are offering, as well as other avenues.

“Our HR department constantly and consistently tries to gather market information,” he said, adding, “that exercise is imprecise” but nevertheless important.

“Our management committee definitely gets involved in the process,” List added, calling benefits “a tool that allows us to compete.”

Manne summed up the competitive nature of benefits and perks with a promise.

“If there's some firm or someone in the tech industry who's doing something really creative and progressive, and if it's an idea I haven't thought of yet,” he said, “I'm going to steal it.”

Susan DeSantis and Mark Bauer contributed to this report.