Paul Weiss - Chairman Brad Karp Levels Playing Field on Assignment of Work

 The traditional way of distributing work in Big Law can make for inequality. At Paul Weiss the Chairperson Brad Karp has changed that.



Called the "Free Market System," the conventional system consists of partners making the assignments to associates. All the decision-making is up to the partners. And that's that. 

If partners don't choose to filter work to associate X or associate Y that associate could wind up without the expected number of billable hours. As a result there could be a negative performance review and eventually the loss of the job. Obviously, also, there will be no shot at upward mobility within the law firm.

Inherent in that system could be biases of all kinds. Documented over and over again is that the men and women in power choose to work with those who remind them of themselves. That brings a sense of comfort. And, of course, that can mean that the white male who had attended a New England boarding school and loves a tough game of squash will parcel out the assignments to an associate who provides a mirror of himself.

Karp, a champion of social justice, stopped all that. The Free Market System has been overhauled. In its place is that assignments are made based on associate availability. If there is a case and if associate X is avaiable he or she gets the work. Yes, it could be one of those high-profile lawsuits or M&A transactions which make brandnames and careers. The game has opened up.

What Karp has accomplished is creating a level playing field at Paul Weiss on which women and minorities can transcend the embedded prejudices of what is known in the sector as "white men who golf."

Diversity is a laudable goal in the legal sector. However, after they are recruited in myriad law firms other than Paul Weiss those junior lawyers could be in for unique suffering. Yes, they could be shut out. Among the lawyers of color who have made it big at Paul Weiss are partners Loretta Lynch and Ted Wells Jr.

In addition, as Karp explained in a Bloomberg Law interview, he has made a priority of associate mental health. The initiatives range from instituting an ethos of pressing the brakes down on overwork to insisting on lawyers taking their vacations. A perk this summer is August as totally WFH. 

Purpose-driven intuitive career coaching, including Tarot Readings. For more information or a complimentary consultation, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text 203-468-8579. 

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