Learning Curve: Compensating Law Firm Mentors

Legal is a tough game.  Especially in traditional law firms, attorneys are out there, trying to get their billables on.  Just grinding.  In an environment like that, it’s hard to get somebody to try to help along a less experienced peer.  And, that’s even true in firms that offer value-based billing – because every hour is most valuable to the biller when they’re trying to meet production goals. 

 

Neither is this a legal-specific problem. 

 

In sports, good luck getting Aaron Rodgers to mentor your young quarterback that you just drafted.  In sales, coffee is for closers.  In home improvement, only one driveway can be the smoothest. 

 

OK – you get the idea. 



So, the question becomes: How do you incentive more senior lawyers, who have billing and revenue expectations themselves, to mentor younger lawyers? 

 

If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on an associate or partner, who just does this out of the goodness of their heart – they’ve got to be basically retired, right? – maybe you don’t care.  But, if you’re not so fortunate, you’ve gotta put that carrot on that stick. 

 

One, simple option would be to compensate the mentor directly, by paying for each hour that person mentors – which could be their hourly rate, or some reduced rate.  In that case, you’re effectively trading out current profit for future profit.  Another option would be to credit the mentor’s hours mentoring, as if they were billed/collected hours or project hours, for any incentive program that already exists.  Yet another option would be to bonus the mentor on the mentee’s performance, across some categories, eg – improved realization rate, higher origination/percentage of origination, increased client conversion percentage.   

 

You get the drift. 

 

Or, you could do combinations of any of those things, or even other things. 

 

The deal with law firm compensation models, is that they’re effectively wide open. 

 

However, you can use incentive models to help you close the loop on mentor relationships. 

 

. . . 

 

Need an apprenticeship program in your law firm?  Let’s talk! 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate.

To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.

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