Bar’s 75th anniversary spurs career sustainability initiative
Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes
Concerned about an exodus of dissatisfied lawyers, Florida Bar leaders are marking the association’s diamond anniversary with a sweeping “sustainability” review.
President-elect Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes says the initiative was prompted by Bar surveys and discussions with lawyers throughout the state. A board-certified civil trial lawyer from West Palm Beach, Baker-Barnes takes office in June.
“We’re really hearing from too many lawyers questioning whether they can sustain a long and fulfilling career in the law,” she said.
The challenge is much bigger than a lawyer losing a case or having a bad day, she says.
“You finish a case, and as soon as you finish it, you’ve got to be right on to the next one, because the demands on you do not give you the ability to actually take it all in and savor what you’ve just done,” she says. “You’ve got to move on to the next client, and the next client, and it’s a never-ending cycle of lack of fulfillment in the profession.”
The initiative will be directed by a special committee of Bar leaders, firm managers, section representatives, judges, and young and senior lawyers.
Most members have been identified and the panel expects to begin work in earnest in July. Sponsors say they’re determined to spend the next year developing “actionable” recommendations.
Michael Fox Orr
“The committee will review macro issues from a very high level,” says Co-Chair Michael Fox Orr, a board-certified civil trial lawyer from Jacksonville and president-elect designate. “We will study why our members become lawyers and why they stay or leave the profession.”
Orr says the committee will likely review sustainability of the legal profession, sustainability of a lawyer’s practice, (keeping them involved in the profession,) sustainability in law firm operations, and sustainability in how lawyers practice law.
“It involves integrating sustainability principles into all aspects of the legal profession, from firm operations to client engagements, ultimately promoting a more responsible and ethical legal sector where lawyers and their clients, the public, are more satisfied with their interaction in and access to the legal profession.”
Orr succeeds Baker-Barnes as president in the summer of 2026, just as the committee’s recommendations are due.
“Those recommendations or suggestions could end up being directed to a particular committee, a section, the Young Lawyers Division, the Board of Governors, the judiciary, or any other stakeholders who may be involved in our profession,” he says.
G.C. Murray II
Co-Chair G. C. Murray II is CEO and managing attorney of Association GC, a Virginia firm that specializes in non-profit management. A legislative chair of the Out-of-State Division, Murray is a Class I Leadership Academy fellow.
“As we celebrate our 75th anniversary, President-elect Baker-Barnes astutely recognizes that there is an undeniable shift occurring,” Murray says. “According to the 2024 Membership Opinion Survey, about 70% of Florida lawyers believe the profession is becoming less desirable.”
The trend is even more concerning with the next generation, Murray says.
“For lawyers under 35, that figure jumps to 80%. This is not a blip; it’s a warning signal that our systems are no longer supporting sustainable careers.”
The trend isn’t limited to Florida, or even the U.S.
A 2022 International Bar Association survey of more than 3,000 lawyers across Europe, Latin America, and Asia, found that one in five lawyers under 40 was thinking about leaving the profession in the next five years.
Before the pandemic, the average associate attrition rate at Am Law 100 firms was 16%, a figure that jumped to 27% in 2021, according to a Thomson Reuters report.
“Using the previous 16% attrition rate, it was calculated that for every 20 lawyers hired, 15 would leave within six years,” the report states. “Law firms are hemorrhaging talent even worse since the pandemic.”
Baker-Barnes and her co-chairs are quick to assure that the initiative will not duplicate efforts of other Bar sections or divisions.
“We will not reinvent the wheel from a study or evidence standpoint and will use available resources,” Orr says.
He points to the mission statement:
“To improve the practice of law in Florida, this committee will assess the current state of legal career sustainability in Florida, identify emerging trends and challenges legal professionals face, and recommend best practices to support sustainable careers.”
Murray says the committee will have its sights set firmly on the future — “This committee matters, because it looks ahead,” he said.
“While we deeply value tradition, we also recognize the need to evolve,” he said. “Proactive stewardship of the profession requires us to begin asking, ‘what kind of profession are we leaving behind?’ and ‘what do today’s lawyers need to succeed tomorrow?’”
