Smart Strategy

The legal sector's "war for talent" is reaching new heights, leaving many firms grasping at straws for what they can do—besides throw more money at the problem—to ease the pain. "Band-aid solutions"—salary increases, signing bonuses, extra vacation days, gym memberships—are temporary fixes. They address the symptoms yet ignore what lies beneath. Among the root causes is culture, a topic around which Vivia Chen of Bloomberg Law recently interviewed several law firm leaders. Her concluding phrase captures the prevailing norm in law firm culture today perfectly: "Suck it up."