New lawyers look for opportunities as state tries to retain more Indiana law grads

As a child growing up in Indianapolis, Molly McMath’s mom worked as an attorney.

She recalled seeing her mom work and going to court hearings during the summer.

“I had an exposure to the legal profession from a very young age,” McMath said.

Now McMath is a lawyer herself, starting as an associate earlier this month at Cohen & Malad, LLP.

Like other recent law school graduates, McMath had certain needs and preferences when she started looking for a job, trying to find a firm or agency that was the right fit. And she believes she found it.

Pay and location are often important considerations, as are workplace culture and professional development opportunities within a firm or public entity.

For some new attorneys, they want to know if firms are employing artificial intelligence in the workplace and how they are using the technology.

While bigger cities like Indianapolis may not be facing an attorney shortage, the state is.

More than half the state’s 92 counties are considered legal deserts, defined by the American Bar Association as having less than one lawyer per 1,000 residents, with Indiana lagging well behind most other states in terms of overall attorneys.

When McMath attended Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, her classmates had varied ambitions in terms of what they wanted to do and where they wanted to be upon graduation.

Some classmates wanted to get hired at “Big Law” firms, McMath noted.

Others simply wanted to make sure they had a legal job of some kind lined up once they graduated from law school.

Of McKinney’s 226 graduates in 2023, 175 found employment in Indiana, according to the law school’s employment summary filed with the American Bar Association.

McMath said that squares with her experience. She could remember one classmate taking a job in Colorado, but most stayed put and found a job in the state. That trend has become particularly important in recent years and is one that some would like to see grow amid the burgeoning shortage.

Law firms look to recruit, retain new attorneys

For the state’s law firms, a lot of effort goes into finding new attorneys and figuring out what will draw their interest and how to make them stay once they’re hired.

Richard Shevitz, a partner with Cohen & Malad, said in the big picture, there isn’t a whole lot that has changed recently in terms of recruiting and hiring new attorneys.

“Here in Indianapolis, it feels like it’s always been a place where young lawyers are looking for a place where they can grow and learn,” Shevitz said.

Shevitz said one thing that has changed is the interest in remote work for some new attorneys.

He said Cohen & Malad hire directly from both McKinney and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, and also look nationally for new attorneys.

Indiana’s overall attorney shortage has been well-documented, with the Indiana Supreme Court and Indiana State Bar Association both looking at ways to address the issue.

Christine Cordial, ISBA’s director of justice initiatives, said at the bar association’s annual summit that Indiana is near the bottom of the U.S. in terms of attorneys per capita, with 2.3 lawyers per 1,000 residents.

Shevitz said the shortage has not affected his firm in the Indianapolis market, with an attorney pool that’s as strong and reliable as it has been historically.

“I don’t feel like there’s been a shortage of applicants, especially for entry level positions,” Shevitz said.

Cohen & Malad has a relaxed work culture, Shevitz said.

He said, in hiring new, “Gen Z” attorneys, he hasn’t noticed any unique requests from associates in regards to the firm’s work culture.

Shevitz said one thing new attorneys are interested in is the firm’s level of involvement with AI.

The Cohen & Malad partner said the firm, like the legal industry as a whole, is on a learning curve as far as appropriate uses of AI.

A Wolters Kluwer’s 2023 Future Ready Lawyer Survey reported 73% of lawyers expect to integrate generative AI into their legal work in the next 12 months, with a lack of consensus about generative AI being an opportunity or a threat.

Almost three quarters of lawyers say they understand how generative AI can be applied to their work, according to the survey.

Shevitz said younger attorneys are more likely to use AI. He said the firm has “guardrails” to make sure AI is used responsibly.

Andrew Detherage, a managing partner in Barnes & Thornburg’s Indianapolis office, said the firm hired a chief legal performance officer in 2022 to assist new associates with professional support and development.

“We’ve developed a robust career development program for our associates,” Detherage said.

Detherage said Barnes & Thornburg works with attorneys on developing legal and non-legal skills. The firm also has practice directors that help with supporting young attorneys and provides them with individual development plans.

Barnes & Thornburg, with offices across the United States, recruits at top law schools all over the country, including Indiana’s three law schools, Detherage said.

He said the message the firm’s recruiters give to prospective hires is they can look at a lot of different areas where they can work, including Indianapolis or the firm’s other Indiana offices.

“There’s plenty of supply. We work hard at it,” Detherage said.

When interviewing potential new attorneys, Detherage said the firm hears from them that they want training and development opportunities and hope that the firm’s more senior lawyers are regularly in the office to provide it.

Barnes & Thornburg’s attorneys are expected to work in the office on a regular basis, Detherage said.

Detherage said some young attorneys are also concerned with how artificial intelligence might impact their legal careers and development and how the technology could affect the need for new lawyers in the long run.

Settling in

As a new attorney, McMath said she works better in the office but also likes the flexibility to work from home.

McMath said one of her first clerking jobs was at Cohen & Malad. She said she started clerking during her second year of law school at McKinney.

She described Cohen & Malad as not the “traditional, stuffy law firm.”

“You can tell there’s a good energy there,” McMath said, with a balance between hard work and features like an office book club and regular potluck lunches.

All three of the state’s law schools offer professional development guidance for students and work to connect them with potential employers.

Olivia Cooley, McKinney’s interim assistant dean of professional development, said what students are looking for once they graduate from law school varies but there is one constant.

“They want to have meaning in their work,” Cooley said.

IU McKinney’s Office of Professional Development offers a variety of ways for students to prepare for life after graduation.

The law school created an On Campus Interview Program, which is designed to connect employers with McKinney students and graduates.

On its website, McKinney notes the school offers two rounds of on-campus interviews during the school year where employers can recruit law students for summer positions or full time roles after graduation.

Cooley said McKinney started a new “city spotlight” this school year where attorneys from Chicago held a virtual Zoom panel with students and gave information about their firms and what it’s like working in that city.

She acknowledged that the vast majority of the school’s graduates stay in state, and McKinney tries to get a variety of employers in the legal industry to connect with students and appear at the law school’s panels and events.•