Sidebar articles are submitted by members of the Virginia State Bar. If you are a VSB member, and would like to submit an article for review, see Sidebar.
|
November 7, 2025
Increasing Attorney Retention Starts with Fostering Meaningful Connections
By Rudene Mercer Haynes
At Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, firm culture is rooted in an unwavering commitment not only to our clients but to our colleagues and communities as well. As we nurture the internal pillars of firm culture, the relationships we develop with one another, as well as with the communities in which we work, help us build strong, empathetic connections with our clients. These strong bonds begin with recruiting and hiring like-minded attorneys who will buy into our firm culture and help carry the torch into the future. One important way we develop this talent pipeline is by leaning in to shared experiences, including shared legal education. Across our firm, 38 associates and partners earned their juris doctorate degrees from William & Mary Law School, while this past year, three of the eight attorneys promoted to partner also graduated from William & Mary Law School.
In the legal recruiting space, many law firms devote significant time and resources to determining the “staying power” of a particular candidate. The soft factors that contribute to this determination go beyond a candidate’s GPA and reflect the need for shared values, alignment of career trajectory with opportunity, and relationship building. If the goal is to increase retention and avoid attrition, then the faster a summer associate or new associate can establish deep, meaningful connections goes a long way toward increasing loyalty. In this way, the value of a shared legal education from William & Mary Law School helps to promote an element of trust: the firm trusts the quality education that William & Mary students receive, and in turn, because of Hunton’s past track record and hiring history, the students trust that a viable career path exists for them.
The tight-knit recruiting network of William & Mary alumni at Hunton regularly engages with William & Mary law students throughout the year, offering both formal and informal teaching and mentorship opportunities. Additionally, the firm’s summer clerkship experience offers students a bird’s-eye view of what it’s like to practice law at Hunton, and helps summer associates make informed decisions about their future. Summer associates are immersed in the day-to-day life of an attorney and are also exposed to those aspects of firm culture, like its commitment to pro bono work and engagement with the broader community. Early exposure to these core firm values allows summer associates to make informed decisions about the type of practice they want to be a part of, which in turn leads to longevity within the firm. In fact, out of 363 Richmond summer associate applications, eight applicants (2 percent) were extended offers, and, of the 2 percent, 29 percent of our 2025 summer associates in the Richmond office were from William & Mary Law School.
In the post-pandemic world of service-oriented careers, loyalty and community often take a backseat to artificial or virtual connections. But as we strive to develop longevity in our hires, the built-in community of William & Mary alumni helps to forge trust, respect, and commitment among new hires. This alumni connection helps to demystify the entire process of working at a big law firm and helps new associates learn to maneuver in law firm life. Hunton’s relationship with William & Mary Law School and its students promotes a deeper understanding of our firm culture and allows partners, counsel, associates, summer associates, and law students to form deeper bonds outside of the practice of law. Developing these connections ultimately tears down barriers and reinforces the idea that a legal career is, at its core, a service profession focused on cultivating meaningful relationships with people.
Rudene Mercer Haynes is a partner in Hunton Andrew Kurth LLP’s structured finance group and managing partner of the firm’s Richmond office. Rudene’s fascination with numbers and problem solving provides tangible benefits to her structured finance and securitization clients, while her focus on ensuring that diverse attorneys receive real opportunities for growth plays an elemental role in her broader achievements.
|
If you are a member of the Virginia State Bar and would like to submit an article for review, see Sidebar.
|