Law firms have long been criticised for failing to respond to the demands of older partners keen to continue working after retirement. But with Allen & Overy and Freshfields recently launching flexi-work initiatives, are opportunities for senior lawyers starting to open up? Pui-Guan Man reports

If law firms' current focus seems to be on reshaping the junior end of their fee earner base to include a more socially and ethnically diverse group of lawyers, let's not forget that the senior end of the profession also has problems. For some time law firms have been slammed for being ill-prepared to meet demand from older partners keen to continue working but perhaps with fewer hours and less responsibility than their younger, progression-hungry colleagues. But with a couple of new initiatives announced in recent months, is the tide gradually turning in favour of older lawyers keen to remain at their firms in some capacity?

All of the UK top 10 firms offer the role of consultant as an alternative to partnership for lawyers beyond retirement age in certain circumstances. Take up at firms to date has been limited, however, with only small numbers at each. And, on the whole, the top 10 do not offer formalised mechanisms as partners wind down from the partnership.

Part of the problem for firms is that lawyers have typically been very bad about planning roles beyond partnership. Of those who are interested in remaining in private practice, some might mull over the prospect of helping out with discreet projects, or get involved with education and training. Others may turn to thought leadership, or might want to retain a degree of chargeable client work. But it is not obvious whether this lack of planning reflects a lack of fore-thought on the part of the individual or whether it is because firms themselves are unclear on what roles are available beyond the lockstep.

Former Slaughter and May senior partner Tim Clark, a founder of BCKR, a business that helps lawyers find non-executive positions after law, says: "In recent times, firms have started to think more about what it is that partners might aspire to do after they retire, and consider what approaches they might take within the parameters of a heavy workload.

"Not everyone wants to go into a role outside law after retirement from a firm. But for those who are interested and are thinking more about it, or who wish to have a broader experience during their time as partner, firms are increasingly looking to assist partners and give them the opportunity of a wider experience."

Sounding boards

Retired partners retaining roles at firms are most commonly associated with thought leadership roles or client focus initiatives, but firms have often struggled to make the latter work. "Generally older lawyers are more involved in thought leadership," comments one partner at a magic circle firm. "It's about the direction of the firm or a practice – about taking a step back, but having earned enough respect and gravitas so that people will listen to your input. 

"They function as a sounding board for when we get stuck on certain aspects of a mandate, and they need to be someone we can keep around. But this is really the exception rather than the rule – there are barely a handful of these at every firm."

But with many of the top-level board relationships being held by senior lawyers, there can be advantages to keeping the right proportion of the older generation in the building. "What I've found with companies in China and Japan is that there are a lot of senior figures in the boardroom who like to know they are dealing with grey hair," says the partner.

Certainly the culture of law firms has a large part to play in creating an environment in which older partners feel secure enough to communicate their plans as they start to think about what they want to do next. It is not surprising that a partner in their late 40s might be wary of being misperceived as someone who has tired of full-time practice too early on. But the risk is they leave it too late before discussing their plans and miss the boat in terms of developing the right skills for that next step.

Cultural change

"Firms need to start reinforcing a culture where lawyers don't feel under pressure to avoid bringing the subject up," says Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) senior consultant Alan Paul, formerly a partner at Allen & Overy (A&O). "If firms can find better ways of addressing it rather than just putting people out to grass, it can be incredibly useful for them. They might, for instance, encourage and support lawyers who want to develop a career as a GC for a client. There could be a big pay off that they are missing out on."

Clifford Chance (CC) senior partner Malcolm Sweeting adds that CC has been informally debating the matter internally and is considering how to best show its partners opportunities for training and support for the next stage of their career. "The question is how to convey the message. It is a delicate and sensitive area. Many lawyers understandably don't want to show their hand at too early a stage in their decision on the future. Realistically there are [always] several highly talented lawyers who will prefer to take a different path in the world and develop their career outside of private practice, and we are happy to provide the building blocks necessary to allow those different careers to flourish," says Sweeting.

"Our approach is to be supportive, albeit in a low key way, of our legal talent and to help them understand what challenges they may face in the future. We want to make it clear to our people that there are various options and courses that might be helpful in developing the skills and experience for their careers in the future."

Older alumni as a workforce

Recent developments at A&O and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, both of which now offer contract lawyer services via former partners and fee earners, may see other opportunities begin to open up for grey-haired partners. Although not targeting older partners directly, these initiatives can offer the flexibility often wanted by senior lawyers as they begin to wind down.

Late last year A&O launched the freelance business Peerpoint, which contracts alumni with high-end or specialised skillsets to assist the firm during periods of high demand. The initiative kicked off in November with around 10 alumni working as self-employed legal consultants and has been gradually increasing since. Peerpoint COO Ben Williams cites "a lot of interest" from more alumni and clients alike. 

For A&O, the scheme offers a way to retain top-performing elder statesmen at the firm as they seek more flexible work arrangements. "We recognise that some lawyers want something slightly different," says Williams. "People are less likely to spend their entire career at one firm these days, and partners regret that they sometimes lose really good lawyers for frustrating reasons – sometimes even leaving law completely. So we are investing in relationships we don't want to lose."

Williams explains that the firm sought to build the service with its alumni ranks before expanding to include lawyers from other firms to ensure a dependable offering. "It's similar in concept to freelance lawyer services such as Lawyers on Demand and Axiom, except we have started the other way around, by initially focusing on alumni lawyers to work directly with A&O," he adds. "Doing it this way means we can carefully test our processes and build our panel of lawyers, and by starting with alumni we can be sure we have people with the right track record."

Building networks

Roughly a year and a half before Peerpoint went live, magic circle rival Freshfields rolled out Continuum, a contract lawyer initiative that drew on its 3,500-strong network of former fee earners to draft in extra pairs of hands during busy periods on an ad-hoc basis. The firm pays lawyers on an hourly basis in four bands – junior, mid-level, senior and partner – corresponding to the point at which they left the firm. 

In many ways the timing of the Peerpoint and Continuum launches makes sense; now that firms are starting to shake off the dust of the downturn more are beginning to see alumni networks as pools of untapped potential for further growth. Employing a flexible base of senior lawyers as a resource clearly has its advantages as a cost-effective way of dealing with heavier volumes of work, instead of the alternative of turning to full-time lawyers. 

While other firms have said they have not experienced the same demand, they admit they will be keeping a close eye on their rivals. "We have not had a tremendous amount of feedback from our alumni around part-time working on an ad-hoc basis," says Sweeting, who chairs CC's alumni network. "However, we have an open mind and it is something we will keep under review. We do use former lawyers from time to time but there isn't a formal structure in place." 

Upon bringing up the subject of alumni, Sweeting refers to an observation that has stuck in his mind since a partner brought it up at the annual partners' meeting in Barcelona a few years ago: "Jonathan Elman, a tax partner, pointed out to the partnership that everyone in the room, indeed everyone in the firm, is a future alumni." 

Older and wiser

Although several UK law firms have done away with compulsory retirement ages, a culture remains where many older lawyers are concerned about outstaying their welcome. There is a well-trodden path from UK firms to US outfits in the City, with senior lawyers nearing the end of their careers attracted by large pay packets and a chance to work for a few years longer. Tied to this, the 'eat what you kill' model at some US firms makes it far easier to accommodate a partner who might do less fee earning while retaining meaningful client relationships.

US firms often keep older lawyers on as of counsel for a considerable period of time, maintaining relationships with clients and functioning as a font of wisdom and advice for younger partners.

Many firms also incorporate tail-offs in their locksteps for lawyers, making it easier to remain in the partnership while working fewer hours – a concept UK practices have traditionally spurned. Firms such as Linklaters and Freshfields have considered such tapering in the past but dismissed it. 

"Sometimes, the culture inside UK firms is that once you retire, you retire. Either you work full time or you don't – there's not much of an in-between," comments BCKR's Clark. "There is a great deal of interest in and important and valuable work going on developing models for part-time work, but the business isn't easily susceptible to it." 

"Let's be honest, firms probably won't want to face a lot of Zimmer frames parked outside the office. It wouldn't make for a desirable situation," jokes BLP's Paul. "But in some cases there are a few senior lawyers with very important relationships at boardroom level that firms will want to keep on.

"If firms want to provide more assistance in helping older lawyers, they could help them find roles they [would be] interested in, like a limited consultancy position. There is scope for more practitioners to hold of counsel roles that enable firms to call on them in the right circumstances – like a hotline, if you like."

Of course, a related battle is for senior lawyers looking to leave their firm who need to find a role that puts their skills to use elsewhere. Surprisingly few lawyers still make the transition into corporate posts or non-executive positions after law.

"Quite wrongly in my view, the lawyer is not yet thought to be a valuable presence in the boardroom and, with a few notable exceptions, senior lawyers eventually find themselves without a role as younger partners deal with transactions," observes former Simmons & Simmons senior partner and BCKR co-founder Bill Knight.

In light of this, Knight suggests the key to maximising the potential of older lawyers is for firms to prepare them to look at outside board or trustee roles as part of a partner development programme. "This broadens their outlook, 

extends their network and makes them better lawyers because they understand their clients better," he says. "Above all it can re-energise them. Lawyers who do that are likely to practise longer and more effectively."

Switching sides

An interesting alternative could be more lawyers moving into non-executive board positions at other law firms. The larger firms tend to bring in non-executive directors from corporates or financial institutions to their boards; only a few have lawyers. Former Dechert senior partner Steven Fogel joined King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin's partnership board in January 2013, while outgoing DLA chairman Tony Angel previously served as a non-exec at legacy SJ Berwin. Meanwhile DWF handed a non-executive directorship to former Eversheds chief executive David Gray in June. In this way, firms could gain invaluable access to an experienced lawyer who is more than familiar with the ins and outs of law firm strategy.

If firms manage to introduce flexibility for older partners who have much more to offer than simply the endurance needed for full-time fee earning, it could result in a more positive work environment. Both younger partners and clients have plenty to gain from improved handovers from longstanding lawyers who would in turn feel motivated right up to the end of their careers. While a career beyond partnership is not for everybody, if law firms start to show willing towards investing in their grey hairs they may well find it is not just the pension pots of their senior statesmen that benefit.

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What's on offer?

Although all of the top 10 UK law firms have consultant-style roles for older lawyers, not one of them has a formal path for lawyers post-partnership, with all such roles agreed on an ad-hoc basis.

Linklaters says it keeps on "relatively few" post-partnership consultants, including former senior partner David Cheyne, while A&O affirmed that a "small number" of retired partners have taken up similar positions.

Slaughter and May has said that occasionally its retired partners take on fairly short-term or part-time consultancy roles, ranging from providing advice in specialist areas to developing precedents for corporate social responsibility, with each case considered on merit. 

Many of the schemes on offer at law firms are more focused around partners getting roles outside the firm, with little capacity to remain in practise in another capacity. 

Eversheds, for example, offers flexible working arrangements that enable partners to pursue other options as they approach retirement, including non-executive directorships on company or charity boards. However, the firm also operates a formal programme in which working preferences are discussed and bespoke options offered, which may include a consultant position allowing lawyers continue working with selected key clients while stepping away from team management.  

Norton Rose Fulbright is also among the firms with a programme in place, dubbed 'Partner Plus', which aims to help partners prepareSeldon – clarification of an age old problem? for life post-partnership that focusing on careers, including non-executive directorships, as well as health and managing finances.

For more, see Outside the citadel – are you ready for a career after law?

Related briefings:

• How old is too old? Compulsory retirement age of 65 justified by law firm
• Seldon – clarification of an age old problem?