Attorney Study Hopes to Find Key to Attorney Longevity and Fit

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 08, 2014

The nations largest law firms spend billions of dollars each year to recruit, train, and ultimately lose lawyers from their ranks. The Right Profile and JD Match are teaming up to help reduce both the human and monetary costs involved in the legal industrys high turnover rate. The firms have launched a nationwide initiative to offer the online assessment tool free to the legal industry and others for a limited time. The goal is to build a broader database reflecting the full range of career choices made by law school graduates and the personalities that accompany those decisions. The study is available at http://www.attorneyassessment.com.

The goal of the study is to build a broader database reflecting the full range of career choices made by law school graduates and the personalities that accompany those decisions. The Right Profile, is a pioneer in assessing candidate-organizational fit through scientifically validated psychometric instruments, and is best known for its work with professional sports teams. JD Match is the first online platform that connects law students and law firms to deliver the legal industrys first trait assessment tool purpose-built for lawyers, the Sheffield Legal Assessment.

Most assessments developed for the general population arent able to finely discriminate among lawyers, said Bruce MacEwen, President of JD Match. Further, he said We believe the legal industry can benefit from a meaningful, empirically driven toolset that lets firms and individuals understand their particular strengths and weaknesses as lawyers. We believe were creating something not available anywhere else.

Although technology in the legal industry has made huge progress in the last ten years to increase the efficiency of legal research, litigation and document assembly, the human side how law students determine their practice areas, how firms recruit, develop and retain attorneys, and even how college students answer the simple question of should I go to law school?, has changed little in the past 40 years. This lack of focus on the human side results in a huge cost to attorneys, law firms and their clients 46% of new associates are gone within their first three years at a firm, lateral partners see similar turnover rates, but at much higher costs to the law firm, and clients suffer disruptions in service.

The first step in solving any of these issues is better understanding attorneys, said Mark Levin, General Counsel of The Right Profile. He added, as we grow our service, we will better understand the specific trait patterns of an intellectual property attorney versus a litigator or other practice areas, and will be able to help law students know what practice areas might be interesting for them. Moving that later in the career spectrum, we can also help law firms better deploy their talent in areas that actually fit well for the lawyer, and also help firms identify attorneys that might be more predisposed to business development.

Upon completion of the 20 minute assessment, at http://www.attorneyassessment.com, each participant will immediately receive a detailed report that profiles the individuals distinctive characteristics in the traits that are most important to practicing law, and how he or she compares to the collective norm of attorneys across the country in each measured trait. The individual can use these results to understand his or her own strengths and how to leverage them. All data will be aggregated anonymously in the study, with no identifying individual characteristics.

Any law firm, law school or bar association interested in taking part in the study can contact either of the companies or their representatives listed below.

JD Match, the first truly 21st-Century legal recruiting platform, headquartered in New York, has been developed by Bruce MacEwen and Janet Stanton, the same individuals behind industry-leading publishing and management consulting firm Adam Smith, Esq.

The Right Profile (TRP) is the leader in predictive talent selection integrating the latest technologies with predictive methodologies in behavioral science that transforms the way organizations select and develop talent. We harness people-centric science and predictive analytics to help organizations make smarter personnel decisions. TRP is active in multiple markets including professional sports, corporate, legal and military. TRP is headquartered in Chicago and has offices in Orlando and Kansas City, MO.

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Attorney Study Hopes to Find Key to Attorney Longevity and Fit