Smokeball’s Law + the Great Resignation Survey Reveals Shifts in Hiring, Culture + Tech

As COVID-19 and The Great Resignation of 2021 upended every corner of the American workforce, news outlets and research companies hustled to study its effects. Headlines you likely read in the past year include:

• Unemployment rises in 2020, as the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021 was the year of the quit: For 7 months, millions of workers have been leaving
• Covid-19 Threatens to Blow Up Law Firms’ Intense Office Culture—for Good

But Smokeball wanted the story directly from the perspective of law firm leadership. We were curious how the pandemic and subsequent wave of job attrition affected the kinds of firms we work with every day: those with 30 or fewer members. In March, we surveyed 150 firm leaders to discover:

• How the pandemic and Great Resignation affected firms’ hiring
• What it takes to secure a great candidate in 2022
• Whether remote and hybrid law offices are here to stay
• How the pandemic and Great Resignation affected the day-to-day operations and culture at today’s law offices
• How these firms feel about the future

The resulting report, “Law + The Great Resignation: What’s next for America’s firms?” reveals a legal landscape where technology plays an increasingly starring role. Nearly 90% of firms added at least one piece of new tech in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and remote/hybrid work, resulting in more clients and billable hours — and fewer hours worked overall.

We also learned that just 29% of firms hire their top choice for every open position. Thanks to a hot market for jobseekers, the best candidates for attorney and staff roles are fighting for the best benefits, workplace models and tools. In the report, you’ll learn how to hire them.

If your firm is like 95% of those we surveyed, you’re optimistic about the future. But change is coming ever-more rapidly for the legal profession, and you need the right tools to keep up. Download “Law + The Great Resignation” today to see how your firm stacks up and plot your next strategic moves.