Here’s something a little different today. I have been thinking………about the Empire State Building and about young women lawyers. What a combo!
I love the Empire State Building. My daughter had a clear view of it from her apartment building across the Hudson River once upon a time, and I never tired of admiring the majestic spire. So, when I saw an article on the recent renovation and retrofitting of the Empire State Building in the on-line Harvard Magazine, I just had to read it. What I discovered was not only an interesting business story but also a lesson for law firms. Here’s why.
The Harvard Magazine article described how Anthony Malkin, a Harvard Business School grad, and his family, owners of the Empire State Building, recently decided on a “green”—as in environmentally responsible—retrofit for the grand old building in Manhattan. The Malkin family had made a choice years earlier to undertake massive renovations rather than sell the building, and they also decided that they would make the building energy efficient and environmentally-friendly in the process.
That’s a lot to take on, especially when you are talking about one of the nation’s best known and most popular landmarks, and all eyes are on the project. In addition to this project, the Malkins also created projects that took the “green” concepts of retrofitting buildings onto the world stage, to places like Melbourne, London and Beijing. They were not shy about a cutting-edge business concept that they knew made sound business sense.
If Anthony Malkin and his family sound like bleeding heart do-gooders, that would be a misconception. Responsible, yes. Do-gooder without an eye on the bottom line, not so much. What I learned was that the Malkins just see the bottom line a little differently—perhaps a little more clearly—than others. They see it creatively. Instead of spending money in the traditional way, because that is how it has always been done, they seek out innovative solutions so that the same amount of money can be spent more intelligently and with longer-lasting and better results. According to Anthony Malkin, “Energy efficiency is not something you add, it is something you build in.”
The rest of the story is history. The Empire State Building is now all “green,” and the energy efficient retrofits are on a projected course to pay premiums in terms of value to the building and the investors. Energy, and therefore value, is not escaping out the windows and doors of the Empire State Building anymore.
So back to law firms. What do they have in common with the Malkins and all this green and energy efficient stuff? A lot, I think. Isn’t the Malkin’s approach to the Empire State Building retrofit the same one that law firms should be taking to retain talent and prevent value from slipping away? Shouldn’t law firms consider the economic incentives to building in protections for the future rather than simply adding a little here and a little there and hope that it provides the appearance of tackling the issue.
In really tackling the issue and building in solutions, law firms need to add up the costs of associate attrition and understand just how much valuable experience and talent is unnecessarily leaving law firms, just as the costly heating and cooling was leaking out the windows and doors of the Empire State Building until the Malkins got smart. Law firms should be dialing up the creativity to find ways to make difficult situations work for male and female attorneys alike —- so that the law firms can retain value and not lose it to the competition or to the unemployment scrolls.
Just as the Malkins had to project future profits and make it through the lean times during the expensive retrofit, law firms must take the long view and understand that most lawyers, and especially women lawyers, will work hard for employers that genuinely care about the careers and professional futures of those young lawyers and help them through the difficult work-life years.
How can law firms show they care? Let me count the ways. Good mentoring programs. Quality work for lawyers who choose non-partnership tracks; Diversity programs and Women’s Initiatives, which the firm commits resources to and which provide helpful career guidance. Workshops on developing clients and effective networking skills that do not always come as naturally to women. Respect in the workplace, regardless of whether the lawyer is part-time, full-time, flex-time or some other alternative work program. And more.
If a businessman like Anthony Malkin can do it so well, so can the lawyers. Law firms need economic incentives just like the Malkins did, and adding up the numbers incident to attrition will demonstrate that firms lose upwards to $500,000 for every departing senior level associate when all the costs are added up. That is not good business.
So, it takes a Harvard-educated businessman to teach the lawyers? Whatever works.
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