What's the Deal with "Free Market" Firms? Forum

[Anonymous User]

A handful of firms market their free market assignment system (in comparison to a rotational or formal assignment system) as a good thing. Can anyone at a free market firm weigh in on the pros and cons? Thanks.

[OneMoreLawHopeful]

Based on my experience at a free market firm, free market is exactly what it sounds like: there is no central work coordinator that staffs you on projects. Instead, it's up to you to reach out and get yourself staffed on things.

In terms of Pro's, it's great if you want to work on a lot of different matter types without being pigeon-holed, it's great if you want to work with a variety of partners, and it's great if you want to manage your own workload.

In terms of Con's, the firm is basically making it your responsibility to get work for yourself, so if you are timid, or fuck up big early on (so that partners don't want you anymore) you can miss hours and get screwed.

Overall, I think it's worth it. You can avoid getting stuck working for just one partner or working on just one type of case. However, I can understand why it's undesirable for some if you do not want the responsibility of finding work for yourself.

Caveat: I think this works great for Lit, but I have no idea how this would work in corp/transactions.

[84651846190]

These firms are designed for outgoing people who do good work. Those who are not sociable or do sloppy work quickly find themselves not making hours, and you know what that leads do.

[DJ JD]

Rotational seems the worst to me tbh. I couldn't imagine wasting however much time it takes to complete a rotation spinning your wheels on some BS you'd never want to do, when you could be developing the skill set you need to exit that much sooner, although I'm not sure if it really makes a difference. I guess most people don't come in knowing they want to do one specific thing like product liability and would die doing something else like antitrust.

On the other hand, getting assigned to a fixed group would suck if you were stuck doing the one thing you hate, but it would at least free you from doing work you don't like if you land in the right group.

I think free market's the best of both worlds if you can avoid the office politics and fatal screwups that make a partner not want to work w/ you again.

[Anonymous User]

I worked at a free market big law firm in the M&A group for 5 years. Based upon conversations with friends, most law firms are mostly free market. If you work for a partner with a big book that wants to staff you on his/her deals, no workflow coordinator is going to stop them. If you are shitty at your job, you are going to receive significantly less work than other associates regardless of a workflow coordinator.

In pure free market systems, it is feast or famine and the pro's and con's will really vary firm to firm and year to year. If your group is understaffed, a workflow coordinator will be welcomed by a superstar associate because it means that other associates will likely absorb some work that would otherwise go to the superstar. If the group is overstaffed, the superstar will probably like his/her ability to be sought out freely by the group and the ability to hit hours. When all is said and done, it is pretty impossible to evaluate whether a workflow coordinator is a good thing as an outsider for the reasons I mentioned and because firms lie about how involved the workflow coordinators are (sometimes, unintentionally, because they truly vary a lot group to group).

I would not let this impact your decision to join a law firm or group at all. You will have zero insight until you are in the trenches.

[dixiecupdrinking]

I think you'll find that technically non-free market firms tend to work that way as you get more senior and develop relationships with partners who want you to keep working with them. But having a central assignment system is a useful backstop. It varies by firm.

I always felt that firms that trumpet having a free market system (cough, Kirkland) are really trying to subtly broadcast something about the kinds of personalities they want (aggressive and competitive or outgoing and sociable, depending on how you spin it).

[Anonymous User]

It definitely leads to things feeling more sink or swim. Even early on, you'll be a little worried if your work product isn't up to snuff. That said, the advantage is that, in theory, you get to say "no" every so often to working with someone. It also means that there's probably less oversight in terms of what you're doing: you're expected to manage your own workload.

[84651846190]

I always felt that firms that trumpet having a free market system (cough, Kirkland) are really trying to subtly broadcast something about the kinds of personalities they want (aggressive and competitive or outgoing and sociable, depending on how you spin it).

+1

Most firms are "free market" to some extent. If you do good work and aren't embarrassing with your social skills, you will do fine anywhere.

If you do good work but are unapproachably weird, you may be allowed to stick around as Of Counsel or equivalent.

If you can't be trusted to do good work, however, you will eventually be shown the door as soon as your billing rate gets too high, your mistakes too glaring, or as soon as your practice group's work flow slows down enough to make you more of a liability than an asset. At top firms with lots of work, it actually takes a surprisingly long time to be shown the door. At shittier firms, action is taken much more quickly.

[5ky]

I think you'll find that technically non-free market firms tend to work that way as you get more senior and develop relationships with partners who want you to keep working with them. But having a central assignment system is a useful backstop. It varies by firm.

I agree with this. It was a good bit of comfort for the first year knowing that the staffing partner could (and did) call you up with fresh deals/assignments when you got slow and you didn't have to scrounge up for work when you didn't have pre-existing relationships for anyone.

It sort of disappears slowly as you get more senior, but I personally thought it was nice to have somebody there to start things off.