free market system or work assignment system Forum

[Anonymous User]

It seems that some firms have a free market system and some firms have a work assignment system. Is a free market system more competitive? Do you have to be super outgoing to excel in a free market system?

[The Lsat Airbender]

The differences are muted in the current "everyone has more than enough work" environment. In a slower economy, free market gives gunners a better chance to hit hours (at the expense of everyone else) but you certainly don't need to be "super outgoing"—simply doing good work will ensure you're at the front of the queue for new work.

[attorney589753]

I worked in both systems, and strongly preferred free market. If you are good associate, you will have more of an opportunity to control which senior associates and partners you work with, as well as what type of work and clients you work for. The downside is that there will always be a few moments when you misjudge, end up with way too much work, and get absolutely zero sympathy/support because it was all stuff you signed up from. But didn't make that mistake too often and to me the pros outweighed the cons by a lot. Maybe to add one final bit of commentary, I think some people who were against free market had the perception that only a small percentage (say 10%) of the firm's work was "good" work and the free market made sure a small group of associates got all the "good" work; I had a bit of the opposite perspective whereby most work is all the same and satisfaction comes from avoiding the bottom 20% of projects/partners/clients. I think at any firm, as you get more senior, the differences between the systems shrink.

[Barrred]

Free market is hands down better. I'm an introvert, and have no problem getting work (especially these days... I dunno how it was back in recession era, but work-assignment-firm associates also had problems back then). In practice, I rarely have to seek work out, at least at my firm partners/senior associates are always going around trying to find associates to join new matters. The ability/power to say "no" to cases/partners you don't like is incredibly valuable.

The downside, as a previous poster said, is that sometimes you can overburden yourself. The only type of person that I would say shouldn't go to a free market firm is someone who is psychologically incapable of standing up for themselves and saying "no" in an awkward conversation with a partner who wants you to get on a new matter when you're too busy. Those types of people end up getting used/abused at free market firms and almost inevitably burn out and leave after a couple years.

[Anonymous User]

Yeah I’m a junior at a free market firm and so far so good. I’ve been able to sample different practices in the order I see fit (roughly speaking based on the timing of matters closing and new ones being available of course). Several of my colleagues have already decided within the first year that they love or hate certain practices and were able to adjust their work streams accordingly. Some have even decided that they don’t like the teams in our office and get staffed solely on stuff out of other offices.

On one hand, the task of balancing my hours, skill progression, and so on is totally my responsibility and there’s less handholding. On the other, if I feel I’m busy enough and the hours I’m billing reflect the firm’s expectation, I have no obligation to take on more. Also, if someone is a total asshole to me I’m free to never work with them again. When I started I was also warned by people above me that x or y mid level had fucked them over and that I should avoid being on their deals - there’s not really any barrier to me following that advice.

[Anonymous User]

I'm at a firm with a very structured work assignment system and I hate it. Will be one of the main reasons I leave because I consistently draw the bad card on who I work with and on what.

[albinododobird]

I haven't been at my firm very long, but I summered here and we have an assignment system. My impression is that you can get work however you want. The assignment system is for your benefit so that you can work with people you haven't met yet or on matters you don't know about yet. But once you've started to get connected with more senior people and you know what they're working on (and they know your work is good), you'll naturally pick up work outside the system.

[Anonymous User]

I haven't been at my firm very long, but I summered here and we have an assignment system. My impression is that you can get work however you want. The assignment system is for your benefit so that you can work with people you haven't met yet or on matters you don't know about yet. But once you've started to get connected with more senior people and you know what they're working on (and they know your work is good), you'll naturally pick up work outside the system.

Staying away from the assignment system is pretty much the only reason I declined to accept offers from Cravath (and to a lesser extent, DPW) and chose a less prestigious firm. Whatever the pros (exciting cases, big clients, newsworthy developments, networking, the exit ops, etc), that kind of system is just. not. worth. it.

[Lesion of Doom]

Not disputing the above, but I've had both and prefer an assignment system. I can still say no, though, so that's perhaps the most important distinction.

One objection I had to free market is that you can "cycle up" with a partner or senior associate you dislike or just need a break from, and it's tougher do that in free market.

[Anonymous User]

Having been in both kinds of system, I would say just be VERY careful going to a firm (or group) with an hours requirement for bonus that has a 'free market' type system.

Partners suck and if for whatever reason you are not getting a steady flow of work naturally (if they overhired, for example), you will get shafted on $$$ AND the partners will blame you for their staffing failure.

[Anonymous User]

Having been in both kinds of system, I would say just be VERY careful going to a firm (or group) with an hours requirement for bonus that has a 'free market' type system.

Partners suck and if for whatever reason you are not getting a steady flow of work naturally (if they overhired, for example), you will get shafted on $$$ AND the partners will blame you for their staffing failure.

I agree with this. No longer in biglaw, but stayed for the better part of a decade, mostly before COVID. I think the current environment where many practice groups have too much work makes free market systems look great. In more normal times (or worse), free market more quickly becomes a scramble to the bottom as associates compete between themselves and hours quickly become self-fulfilling prophecies, as you mention (hours low? Well, it’s free market, so it’s your fault, not the partners who have no work!).

I’d also recommend work assignment systems over free market for attorneys coming from backgrounds that have typically had trouble making it in biglaw. Free market just introduces another avenue for biases, conscious and unconscious, to slip in. Work coordinators provide at least an imperfect check on that.

There is definitely a type that thrives in free market systems, though, and they can be better for a lot of people just based on personality (or for people who luck into working for a good partner/group as a junior when things are still being felt out).

[Anonymous User]

I currently work at a work assignment firm. Actually my group is decently small (2-3 partners) so it's always pretty clear where the work is coming from and who is doing it. I'm curious to know -- in a free market system, is it easier to cruise and manage your hours? In my situation, a partner just shows up to my office (or now sends an email) saying "do this." I never volunteer for anything. While that makes work flow pretty simple, it also has lead me to a couple 2600+ hour years.

If you don't want to gun for partner, is it easier to just take as much work as you want in a free market system, and just try to hit minimum hours for bonus every year?

[attorney589753]

I currently work at a work assignment firm. Actually my group is decently small (2-3 partners) so it's always pretty clear where the work is coming from and who is doing it. I'm curious to know -- in a free market system, is it easier to cruise and manage your hours? In my situation, a partner just shows up to my office (or now sends an email) saying "do this." I never volunteer for anything. While that makes work flow pretty simple, it also has lead me to a couple 2600+ hour years.

If you don't want to gun for partner, is it easier to just take as much work as you want in a free market system, and just try to hit minimum hours for bonus every year?

I think this is probably really "depends on the firm", but in my experience yes. I wouldn't describe the difference as super extreme; it's not necessarily easy to just cruise and hit minimum (at that level the partners might ask "are you really that busy?") especially when firm is this busy. But at my free market firm, if you build up some buffer (say you are tracking 2200), it becomes a lot harder for a partner to force you into anything. They may still try, though.

[Anonymous User]

I currently work at a work assignment firm. Actually my group is decently small (2-3 partners) so it's always pretty clear where the work is coming from and who is doing it. I'm curious to know -- in a free market system, is it easier to cruise and manage your hours? In my situation, a partner just shows up to my office (or now sends an email) saying "do this." I never volunteer for anything. While that makes work flow pretty simple, it also has lead me to a couple 2600+ hour years.

If you don't want to gun for partner, is it easier to just take as much work as you want in a free market system, and just try to hit minimum hours for bonus every year?

I think this is probably really "depends on the firm", but in my experience yes. I wouldn't describe the difference as super extreme; it's not necessarily easy to just cruise and hit minimum (at that level the partners might ask "are you really that busy?") especially when firm is this busy. But at my free market firm, if you build up some buffer (say you are tracking 2200), it becomes a lot harder for a partner to force you into anything. They may still try, though.

Agreed, and it also depends on your practice and who you work with. As long as I'm hitting my hours, I have zero obligation to accept work from some rando who wants to give it to me, and I can either tell them I'm currently at capacity but would love to work with them in the future, or (if I don't want to work with them in the future) very politely and diplomatically imply that they can fuck off. However, if it's one of the people I work with regularly it becomes harder. There is equally no formal obligation to accept further work from them, but informally there may be social or career pressure to do so. The solution seems to be to communicate your workload and any impending need to take time off with your go-to teams, so that you can ease onto and off of work at times that are convenient to them, while maintaining the ongoing work relationship.

Practically speaking, I think there's enough informal pressure to accept work that the difference is minor between free market and assignment systems most of the time. But the distinction that I have zero formal obligation to anyone, while subtle, does make a big difference psychologically and shifts some of the power to make those decisions into my hands rather than people above me.