The following is an excerpt from a column written by Gene Commander discussing why Colorado law firm leaders are now facing unprecedented challenges due to a dwindling supply of talent and how these challenges will soon threaten the future prosperity of their firms – the most significant being their inability to attract and retain affordable and productive midlevel attorneys who truly understand the business of law. The article was published by Law Week Colorado and can be read in full here.
Colorado law firms are entering an uncertain era with mounting business pressures. Most significant, firms are struggling with a new brand of supply chain disruption that is limiting their ability to attract and retain attorneys. Baby boomers are exiting the firms they helped build as Generation X follows in their footsteps. But Generation X is half the size of the boomer generation and has too few members to fill the roles coming open. As for younger talent, law school enrollment has dropped substantially since its peak a decade ago, and shrinking college enrollment presages a continuing talent crunch. These trends are coupled with remarkably high attrition rates, particularly among members of underrepresented groups. And to make matters worse, a price war has sent talent costs sky high in Colorado and across the country.