Some of them came to lawyering more recently, in a dot-comet economy that flashed through the sky trailing unlimited possibilities, so much so that the notion of staying in one job seemed boring. They are a new breed. They are independent, entrepreneurial and understandably opportunistic. And they are changing the feudal system that is the traditional law firm, or any other kind of law office with ladder-climbing hierarchies. More and more, they are chipping away at the lockstep, dues-paying way of rising to the top by negotiating for what they want at the bottom and the middle.
Negotiation is two-way, of course, and some law firms are responding well.
But the forces that form this new breed are working at every level. Within months that was not only matched but in some cases exceeded in the big-city firms. Associates at every level in those places got 40 percent raises. It didn t stop there. On the coasts and in the middle of the country, law firms are dealing with accommodating the new lawyer, from salary increases to demands for training programs and alternative work arrangements geared to lifestyle.