Mentoring in decline as firms focus on short-term metrics

Steven J Harper, an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, talks about the decline of the tradition of mentoring within law firms. He attributes this decline to an industry-wide focus on short-term metrics – such as billable hours – which leaves little time for the personalized mentoring that turns good young lawyers into better older ones. There are no metrics that account for the contribution made by time spent guiding and teaching associates, and this article posits that: ‘Throughout large law firms in particular and the world in general, what can't be measured gets ignored.’

Mentoring in decline as firms focus on short-term metrics amlawdaily.typepad.com Tue, Jul 27, 2010