Top US firm says GenZ lawyers require ‘more handholding’ at work

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By Legal Cheek on

11

Suggestion appeared in a job ad for Gibson Dunn


US law firm Gibson Dunn has suggested that GenZ lawyers require “more handholding” around the office.

The suggestion appeared in a newly posted job listing for a London-based professional support lawyer, though it now seems to have been removed.

The role’s responsibilities include typical support tasks such as creating and reviewing templates, conducting legal research, leading meetings, and delivering presentations.

However, eyebrows may have been raised at the firm’s suggestion that GenZ lawyers (those born between 1997 and 2012) require “targeted training” due to a need for “more “handholding post-lockdown.

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The online ad now appears to have been amended to remove the reference but not before website RollOnFriday secured a screenshot.

A spokesperson for Gibson Dunn told the website:

“This is a newly created role to provide high-quality legal content and skills for our lawyers, including targeted training and coaching to support our junior associates.”

While some argue that junior lawyer training has suffered post-lockdown due to the shift to remote working — learning through osmosis, among other things — questions may arise about why GenZ lawyers need handholding, especially when they can earn a as much as £180k once qualified.

11 Comments

Gen z defender

I can guarantee it’s because gen z is naturally a more outspoken generation and they speak up when they don’t understand things, whereas older generations were (wrongly) told to suffer in silence. To say an entire generation is lazier or less skilled in a role is quite silly really.

Jeremy

You were around with the ‘older generations? Ask around. It was not so much “not speaking up” as using a bit of initiative

Zapher

180k as an NQ is wild. What will the support lawyer be on?

Anonymous

Average working day of 11.5 hours. Likely 6 days a week averaged a year. Over 3000 hours a year… it’s not that wild when put into context

X

Only if you think that that is more than other professionals

Anna

That is not how I interpret the ad, at all.

Anonymous

This is the silliest thing ever. If employees are gen z, applying common sense we can infer they will be young, meaning they will come across new things never done before – of course they will need “hand holding” aka training to get to grips with things. As will any person starting a new job/ role

Anonymous

Every junior needs some hand holding, but what about the reverse when gen z need to hold partners hands because they don’t know how to convert a word doc to pdf

X

Or have forgotten they are not allowed to buy lunch from the client account and need reminding. Again! Doh!!!

LOL

Do tell – how do you interpret “more handholding/explaining needed for GenZ/post-lockdown”?

Partner

Sick of my trainees complaining about the “lack of support” and 100 hour weeks.

What part of “I need a monkey to collect signatures and run redlines” don’t you get?

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