On the heels of being named the "Best Midsize Law Firm in New York" by Vault, Pryor Cashman was featured in a new report from Law360, which found that lawyers at midsize firms enjoy greater job satisfaction and overall well-being than their counterparts in BigLaw or smaller firms.
According to Law360's 2018 Lawyer Satisfaction Survey, attorneys at midsize firms are the least likely to look for new jobs, most satisfied with their opportunities for advancement, and least likely to report feeling chronically stressed. Additionally, compared with their peers, more respondents from midsize firms stated they could accomplish all of their tasks in a given day, and were least likely to work more than 60 hours a week or delay a life event because of work.
"As a daily experience, the role here is much more satisfying and engaging," Edward Cohen, an associate in Pryor Cashman's Corporate Group who left BigLaw in search of more hands-on experience, told Law360. "You get all the advantages of being a New York lawyer — cross-border work, international issues. You don't tend to have big M&A deals in a local practice."
Pryor Cashman has experienced an influx of ex-BigLaw attorneys in recent years. One such attorney who joined the firm as an associate said he'd worked on more matters in his first four and a half months at Pryor Cashman than in four and a half years at his previous firm.
Ronald Shechtman, the firm's managing partner, cited unprecedented interest from top-level, top-credentialed associates with a desire to get out of BigLaw and pursue other alternatives. "We're seeing it in virtually every department," he said.
As the oldest millennials — those born in the early 1980s — close in on their 40th birthday, Shechtman has also noticed a generational tendency toward pursuing work they find rewarding. "We're seeing associates give that a primacy over compensation and maybe even status," he told Law360.
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