What successful companies know that law firms need to know: the importance of employee motivation and job satisfaction to increased productivity and stronger client relationships.

• Author: Neff, Theresa M.

INTRODUCTION I. INTO THE PRESSURE COOKER: THE DEMANDS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION AFFECT LAWYERS' RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR STAFF MEMBERS II. BUILDING AND SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS: MOTIVATED AND SATISFIED EMPLOYEES MEAN HAPPY CLIENTS III. EXAMINING EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND SATISFACTION IN LAW FIRMS: A CASE STUDY A. Survey Design B. Results C. Discussion D. Conclusions IV. A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION OF MOTIVATION A. Expectancy Theory B. Herzberg's Theory C. The Impact of Teamwork V. STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS: EXAMPLES OF EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION AND SATISFACTION IN CORPORATE AMERICA VI. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION IN LAW FIRMS VII. CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION

Legendary business icon and General Electric CEO Jack Welch was once asked which was more rewarding to people: money or recognition. (1) His answer was simple: "you have to get rewarded in the soul and the wallet." (2) Mr. Welch understood that it is not enough that companies pay their employees well and expect great work in return. Companies must also empower their employees and provide incentives for them to perform at high levels. Motivating employees and understanding the psychology behind employee motivation are essential to any successful organization. The most productive companies in the world, like Jack Welch's General Electric, make employee motivation and job satisfaction a top priority. Why? Because satisfied employees improve the bottom line. They work harder, longer, and more efficiently because they know they are critical to the success of the organization. Law firms should adopt this same philosophy. Running a law firm is a business. Indeed, one author has noted that because of the changing nature of the legal profession, lawyers who refuse to view the practice of law with a business mentality will be left behind. (3) Employees of law firms who are content and motivated are not only more productive, but also improve client perceptions of and strengthen clients' relationships with their firms.

The idea for this note was based in large part on my business education in addition to my own experiences as a legal secretary at four different law firms. While in college, the underlying concept that my business professors drove home was that customer satisfaction is inherently dependent on employee satisfaction. Employee attitudes can mean the difference between a repeat customer, and one who discourages their friends and family from going back. (4) Yet, while working at the law firms, I was struck by how many secretaries were dissatisfied with their jobs and the lawyers for whom they worked. Most of the complaints centered around feelings that the lawyers they worked for did not value them as employees. They described their superior attorneys as pushy, controlling, easily agitated perfectionists. The most common complaint was that the lawyers expected them to stay late into the evening and come in on weekends. Many secretaries felt that these expectations were in complete disregard for the fact that they had other demands

on their lives and were not receiving the same benefits for long hours that the attorneys did receive or could anticipate receiving, such as job security through partnership, high wages, and prestige. The secretaries' dissatisfaction affected how they treated and responded to clients' needs, and in some circumstances, impaired the attorney-client relationship. (5) My experiences and education led me to question whether my perceptions were accurate and, if so, whether law firms could learn and apply the experiences of the corporate sector to strengthen these relationships.

This note examines the importance of employee motivation and job satisfaction to increased productivity and stronger client relationships with law firms. In Part I, I discuss how the pressures of the legal profession can affect lawyers' relationships with their staff members. My analysis will center on recent studies on lawyer job satisfaction, the impact of stress on lawyers, and the public's perception of lawyers. In Part II, I discuss the law firm as a "service" organization and the implications of that orientation. In this section, I also emphasize the importance of building and maintaining relationships with clients and how law firm employees may affect that relationship. In Part III, I describe the results of a case study of one law firm's employee satisfaction levels, and in Part IV of the note, I focus on the psychological theory of motivation. I identify specific theories of motivation, including the expectancy theory, and both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In Part V, I discuss "real world" motivational techniques used in one of America's most successful corporations: Southwest Airlines. In the concluding section, Part VI, I recommend specific motivational techniques that lawyers can use to boost employee morale.

1. INTO THE PRESSURE COOKER: THE DEMANDS OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION AFFECT LAWYERS' RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR STAFF MEMBERS

   As lawyers experience increased workplace stress, their relationships with support staff can become more strained. Numerous studies have indicated that job satisfaction among lawyers has decreased in recent years. (6) Specifically, a 1990 survey by the American Bar Association found a 27 percent increase in job dissatisfaction among lawyers since 1984. (7) Internalizing the never-ending pressure of the legal profession is common for lawyers, and "one's capacities for simple decency and caring may be further eroded by regular dealings with other attorneys affected by the same stressors." (8) In addition, lawyers are taught to maintain professionalism and objectivity, and often the pressures of meeting the billable hour quota impact their "human values" and relationships with others. (9) Therefore, it is no surprise that the

   "pressure cooker" atmosphere of most law firms impact lawyers' relationships with their staff members.

   Lawrence S. Kreiger, in his article on revitalizing the legal profession, states that certain factors create "occupational hazards" with which lawyers must contend. (10) Some of these include: (1) the focus on analytical skills and the suppression of personal feelings; (2) compartmentalizing feelings and values in order to be an objective advocate for clients; and (3) the negative public perception of lawyers. (11) All of these factors can and do affect lawyers' relationships with others and certainly have an effect on employee satisfaction levels.

   The stress that lawyers endure begins in law school. A 1986 University of Arizona Study found that the mental health of some lawyers is compromised once they are immersed in the legal culture. (12) The study concluded that by the end of the spring semester of the first year of law school, students had higher than average depression, anxiety, paranoia and hostility rates. (13) Other studies have concluded that lawyers and law students are more likely to suffer from emotional problems such as depression, anxiety, addictions, and as a whole tend to be unhappy people. (14) Yet another study found that 20 to 35 percent of lawyers are "clinically distressed" or in need of professional help. (15)

   The stress and demands of the legal profession are not the only source of problems for lawyers. The public's poor perception of lawyers is an additional "weight" on their shoulders and impacts their relationships. According to some polls, the public opinion of lawyers has worsened in the last decade. (16) The respondents in a 1993 American Bar Association poll reported that lawyers are less caring and compassionate today than in the past, and only two-thirds were happy with the representation they had received. (17) Lawrence R. Kreiger stated that people should "not underestimate the impact on lawyers and law students of the intensely negative public perception of the profession," and that internalizing the negative perception will affect one's self-esteem. (18)

   When lawyers are unhappy, whether because of work pressures, public opinion, or both, their unhappiness often permeates the workplace. The greater their dissatisfaction the more likely they are to become anxious, hostile and depressed. (19) There are a number of explanations for the high levels of dissatisfaction among lawyers. A 1990 study by the American Bar Association concluded that "it is the work environment, the particular mix of positive and negative work environment factors, that accounts for most of the variation in satisfaction/dissatisfaction levels." (20) Specific aspects of the profession seem to compound stress levels. These include work overload, competition, and time pressures. In addition, the adversarial nature of the profession, and conflict levels in certain areas of practice, which are unique to the legal profession, add to lawyers' stress and unhappiness. (21)

   Lawyers' dissatisfaction can have a negative effect on their employees, which will ultimately affect their clients. Evidence from the health care field reveals that there is a direct correlation between employee satisfaction, client satisfaction and physician satisfaction. (22) The authors of one study discovered that physicians who create a positive work environment for their employees may be able to increase their own job satisfaction. (23) In contrast, lawyers who are dissatisfied may create a negative work environment for employees, which, in turn, effects client perceptions and relationships with firms.

2. BUILDING AND SUSTAINING RELATIONSHIPS: MOTIVATED AND SATISFIED EMPLOYEES MEAN HAPPY CLIENTS

   One feature of law firms is that they are "service" oriented, as opposed to being "goods" oriented. Unlike goods organizations, which sell tangible products, service organizations have unique features that influence customer relationships. (24) In order to build and sustain customer relationships, service providers must consider three factors: (1) the intangible nature of services makes a consumer's choice of competitive...