The legal industry in the 20th century was deeply engaged in efforts to expand access to, and diversity within, the legal profession. Recent research suggests that while many barriers the legal industry focused on - such as gender, race, and religious exclusion - have fallen, there is still much to be done in this new era of law.
Your typical entry-level lawyer doesn’t ask about salary, billable hours, and making partner anymore. Now, the questions have changed and so have what young associates look for in a potential career. Living in a world surrounded by technology and opportunities, today's young lawyers want their jobs to accommodate their family and personal lives - they're much different than their Baby Boomer bosses.
The law firm environment of the 21st century has become dramatically different from your typical law firm of a decade ago. Demographic shifts in the general population and the resulting changes in the composition of the legal workforce present new challenges and opportunities for law offices.
One of the most significant demographic developments in the workplace is the presence of four generations - Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. In fact, according to USA Today, this is the first time four different generations have been in the legal workplace at once, each coming in with their own unique characteristics. The newest generation, Gen Y, is no exception.
"Today's lawyers are just a different type of person with desires to achieve success in many different facets of their lives, in addition to professional success," says Lou Helmuth, assistant dean for career services. "As a result, they may not be willing to make all of the compromises and sacrifices to these other areas of their lives that have traditionally been necessary. Their professional life is only one of many components in which today's law graduate wants to excel. However, also as a result, these lawyers bring many more experiences and skill sets to the table."
Gen Y has entered the workplace with a much different outlook from their predecessors. They are a generation of multi-taskers, and can simultaneously e-mail from their BlackBerry, listen to their iPod, research on the Web, and post photos and comments on MySpace. This generation taught their grandparents how to use computers and taught their parents how to program their DVRs. Gen Y is one of the most diverse demographic groups, possesses great knowledge of technology know-how, and has high expectations for themselves and their employers. And, as they take their first jump into the career world, they will be the fastest-growing segment of the workforce.