Orange County, California at sunset. Photo: Shutterstock.com

Midlevel associates in California are happy at work, especially those who live in the sunny part of the Golden State.

California associates in their third, fourth and fifth years gave their firms an average satisfaction rating of 4.471 out of 5, according to data from The American Lawyer's annual Midlevel Associate Satisfaction Survey.

The data draws the results from 690 survey responses at 32 large law firms with California offices, finding that midlevel associates based in Southern California reported a higher satisfaction score, at 4.5, compared to those in Northern California, which averaged 4.43.

Both were above the national average satisfaction score of 4.391, which has been on the rise for several years.

For 11 out of the 12 categories on which associates were surveyed, the average California score was higher than the average score among all firms surveyed by The American Lawyer. The one exception was billable hours—California associates gave an average satisfaction score of 4.166 for their firms' billable hours policies, slightly slower than the national average of 4.169.

The category with the highest average score was firms' attitude toward pro bono, at 4.671.

Among the five California regions surveyed, associates in Orange County showed the highest work satisfaction, at 4.666, followed by Silicon Valley, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Midlevel associates in San Francisco gave an average satisfaction rating of 4.386, below the national average.

Several Big Law firms with roots in Los Angeles-based have grabbed top spots in the overall national ranking. Leading the pack is Paul Hastings, which moved from third to the second this year, followed by O'Melveny & Myers at fourth and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher at eighth.

San Francisco-headquartered Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, which ranked fourth last year, dropped to 21st in 2019.

Happier in California 

Of the total 32 law firms whose California associates participated in the survey, 20 of them reported a higher satisfaction scores for their California associates than their firmwide scores. All of the top 10 ranked firms showed higher satisfaction ratings compared their firmwide average.

Blank Rome, which has five lawyers in California, took the first place with a perfect 5 out of 5 satisfaction score—significantly higher than its firmwide score of 4.795. The 61 California midlevels at O'Melveny & Myers gave the firm a satisfaction score of 4.863, also above its firmwide average, at 4.750, ranking the firm in the second place.

Among the 12 firms that reported higher associate work satisfaction firmwide than in California, Paul Hastings saw the biggest distinction with 4.5 satisfaction score in California and 4.773 firmwide.

In their open-ended responses, a significant portion of California-based associates said the support their firms provided on work-life balance and flexible work arrangements contributed to the higher satisfaction.

"As much as I work long hours, I have flexibility to work from home when needed, which I do quite often," one California associate said.

Another California associate also said her firm provides the flexibility she needs "to be a working mom," so she can dedicate more time to her kids while advancing her career.

But some said their firms could do better. Two associates from two different firms explicitly said that at their firms "flexibility is talked about, but not a reality."

When the associates were asked about what their law firms could do better in order to retain the talent, several again pointed to the work-life issues, suggesting a more flexible work schedule, longer vacation times and supportive parental leave policies.

"Nobody takes more than a week or two in a year, and we are, of course, not compensated for this when we leave the firm," a fourth-year California associate said. "Moreover, some associates feel guilt about even taking time off."

In the open-ended comment, the same associate continued, saying the firm's parental leave policy hasn't always been fairly provided for both primary and non-primary caregivers, where male associates were discouraged from using the full amount of leave provided in the firm's policy, and some women associates felt discouraged from returning after taking leave.

"The more I progress in seniority, the more concerned I am about what I see, the attitude [toward] new parents, the way having family and kids affects your chances to even be considered for partnership," the associate said. "Admittedly, some practices and offices are doing better than others. It is still very depressing."

Change the Billables

In response to a question about what they would change about their firms, a sizable group of California associates said they would like their firm to change or eliminate the billable hour structure.

At least 38 associates in California demanded change with regard to their firms' billable hour policies. Throughout all the responses provided, the billable hour topic was mentioned for about 109 times.

"As with all Big Law, I would try to do away with billable hours as much as possible," a third-year associate said. "It puts an unnecessary pressure on every day, incentivizing bad behavior and fostering anxiety amongst associates."

Several also suggested counting pro bono hours and vacation days toward the billable hour requirement.

"I would get rid of the billable hour requirement," another fifth-year Californian said. "I don't think it's necessary to evaluate associate merit and it creates unnecessary difficulties for associates who are staffed on deals for smaller clients and are inevitably asked to 'be efficient.'"

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