By Jenny Van Veen

PAGE: Age vs. Ex per ience Discriminat ion

Due to the economic crisis, I have been spending a lot of time on the phone with outstanding lawyers who have
been lef t in desperate situations. Many of these attorneys, from junior associates to senior partners, come from top
law firms and have excellent academic credentials. The tone of the conversation is one of desperation and frustra-
tion. Perhaps the most frustrated are the senior and partner-level attorneys who have a wealth of experience to
bring to the t able, but have not had any success getting a firm to t alk to them. These candidates are disgusted
because their willingness to be flexible and t ake a hit in title or class year in order to make a move is rejected.

When a candidate with many years of experience is told they cannot be presented for a lower-level position, they
become angry, very defensive, and of ten accuse the r ecruiter and firm of age discrimination. While it may seem
like r ecruiters are discriminating against them for their age, that really has nothing to do with why they express
concern over placing the candidate with a firm.

For the recruiter, part of developing a strong relationship with a firm is having an underst anding of the type of
candidate they want to see. Our job is to save them tim e and to present candidates who are exactly on point with
their needs. Most firms give us guidelines to follow and ask us to stick to them; otherwise, we would not be provid-
ing them with a service.

That being said, I have never had a firm tell me not to present a candidate over a cert ain age. In fact, I have wit-
nessed a number of attorneys transition to law firms who are very close to retirement. I have also seen a number
of attorneys well into their thirties and forties graduate from law school as a second career and land law firm posi-
tions. Age is not necessarily the issue for senior attorneys trying to t ransition into a firm. However, here are some
legitimate hurdles they will face:

Lack of business. Unless there is that rare opportunity where a firm has more business than it can handle and
just needs someone to come in and hit the ground running, a firm almost always requires senior attorneys to bring
a book of business with them. While the threshold varies, the attorney typically needs to bring at least enough to
support him or herself.

Firms fear the candidate will not be happy and will not be a good long-term prospect. As you probably know,
firms don’t actually st art to make a profit off of an attorney until a few years down the road. In an ef fort not to
suff er a loss, firms hire candidates they feel confident will be with them for the long haul. For example, if you have
been a sole practitioner for over 30 years and never worked in a law firm, it can be a tough transition. Firms feel it
is risky to bring in someone who has never worked in the environment and does not know if he or she will be happy.

Firms do not know how t o bill out a senior att orney in a lower class level. ‘’Higher quality at a lower cost ’’
doesn’ t seem t o work. Many senior attorneys are willing to t ake a hit in class level or title in an effort to make the

Age vs. Ex per ience Discriminat ion

 transition. It would make sense that firms would jump at the opportunity to hire an experienced lawyer but not
have to pay him or her for that experience. Again, firms fear that while it may seem smart at the outset, ultimately
the attorney will not be happy with the work and leave.

Concerns th a t other associates in the group will feel th reatened. As mentioned above, partners are willing t o
come in at a Senior Associate or Counsel level just to get their foot in the door. However, firms have to keep their
other associates happy and of ten those associates feel threatened by an attorney who comes in at their level with
significantly more experience. Naturally, they fear the work will shift disproportionately and they may not make
their billables, which in t urn threatens their future at the firm.

Firms are skeptic al of senior att orneys willing t o t ake a lower position. All firms have been burned by bad hires
in the past and believe that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is! Firms are skeptical of senior attorneys
who all of a sudden have a change of heart and off er to t ake a significant hit to do it. It’s terribly pessimistic, but
unfort unately it’s a chance they are of ten not willing to t ake.

While the reasons listed above may be just as frustrating as the process itself, keep in mind that these are hurdles.
The hurdles make the job search more difficult, but not impossible. There will be that firm that recognizes the value
of a candidate’s expertise and years of experience, but it may t ake a little tim e to find it. However, if the doors don’t
PAGE: open all at once, it may be the candidate’s experience that is part of the problem, not his or her age.

Age vs. Ex per ience Discriminat ion