根据中国司法部的最新统计，截至2022年底，中国共有超65万名律师，其中约16%的律师年龄在30岁以下。对于律师事务所来说，这些年轻律师是保障机构长远发展的宝贵财富，然而对于年轻律师在职业发展过程中真实的所思所感，律所仍旧存在不少“迷思”，甚至误解。

 

今天，几乎所有运营于中国的律师事务所都将吸纳和培养年轻人才视为律所长远发展策略中至关重要的一环。为此，他们努力提供体面的入门薪资，竭力搭建透明、合理的培养及晋升制度，并且希望在方方面面为年轻人提供细致入微的人文关怀。

上述努力诚然值得赞许，且收获颇丰，但律所管理者们在面对年轻律师时，仍旧会时常感受到挫败。中国的高速发展，叠加网络及信息化的不断演变，导致不同代际面对着截然不同的社会现实和成长环境，不可避免地塑造出差异巨大的人生观和价值观，曾经适用于律师职业的法则和道德观念也可能已经过时。恰如一位年轻律师所总结的：“律所似乎总在提供我们不需要的，却忽略我们真正需要的。”

为了弥合这种误解，过去三个月，ALB展开了“年轻律师职场调研”，共有来自全国20个省市、年龄在30岁以下的年轻律师，从多元维度分享了对于律师职业和律所环境的真实观察与感受。

有趣的是，年轻一代对于律所的诸般努力并非全然“买账”。当被问及“你所在律所的合伙人/管理层是否真正关心年轻一代的成长”时，只有36%的人表示同意，27%的人不置可否，37%的人则表示否定。

与此同时，年轻律师们指出，他们在律所管理层中仍缺乏真正的“代言人”：只有20%的人表示在律所中，35岁以下的律师能够一定程度参与到发展决策之中；而44%的人认为，30岁以下的律师对于律所政策、文化、氛围，无疑能够产生积极的影响。

择所时的多重考虑

每年春秋两季，律所都会组织丰富的校招活动，希望吸引尤其顶尖高校的年轻毕业生。本次调研中，70%的参与者拥有硕士学历，18%的人则有海外留学经历，他们的反馈可以帮助我们回答一个问题：优秀的年轻人在选择律所时究竟有哪些考虑因素？

有些硬指标仍旧至关重要，比如薪酬水平：51%的人认可“律所的薪酬水平是我选择目前这份工作时的重要考虑因素”；经济收益除了工资，也包括各样福利，不过，只有约22%的人对所在律所的福利机制感到满意。

此外，律所的品牌口碑也构成极强的吸引力，68%的人认可“所在律所的行业名气及声誉是我选择目前这份工作时的重要考虑因素”。

与此同时，年轻人对于律师生活有着更为全面的想象，如一位受访者所说：“年轻律师不仅仅需要平台，在北上广深，体面的收入，合理的通勤，和谐的工作氛围等也是考量一份职业的重要因素。”

受访者中，80%的人承认，“相比暂时的薪资，我更为看重律所平台提供的项目质量、未来晋升路径与职业发展前景”；90%的人则指出，“良好的领导及团队氛围是我在工作当中较为看重的因素”。一家律所是否具备和谐的氛围、能够排除“有毒文化”也十分重要，有67%的人坦言，“一家律所是否崇尚‘内卷文化’是我求职过程中考量的重要因素”。

此外，魔鬼在细节中，一些小事也能阻拦或者助推年轻人的选择，例如有65%的人承认，“通勤方便度、住所距离律所的远近在我求职过程中也扮演了重要角色”。

普遍的“被压榨感”

在多番衡量下选择了心仪律所、开启律师生活后，许多年轻人却发现这份职业并不像想象的那般光鲜。本次调研中，70余位律师以留言方式表达了他们对于律师执业的感受，令人惊讶的是，其中似乎体现出一种普遍的“被压榨感”。

留言中出现的字眼包括：适合PUA、愿意牺牲、压榨、不尊重、无关紧要、是牛马不是人、拼命、要听话、伏小做低、廉价劳动力等等。“（律所）认为年轻律师应当主动奉献，不求回报，安于坐冷板凳。”一位律师留言道。另一位则说：“年轻律师受不了压榨可以随时离开，反正现在不缺年轻人。”

“吃得苦中苦，方为人上人”，这种被许多律师认可的职业道德观，是否在年轻一代身上已经失效？答案并不尽然。调研中，62%的人认可“我相信律师声誉及收入的增长和坚持相关，我愿意在这个行业一直坚持下去，以汗水换取丰收”——年轻人依旧相信“以付出换取成功”的逻辑。

不过，如上所述，今天许多年轻法律人拥有明显高于前辈的教育背景，而经历过名牌学校、高学历锻造的年轻人，在职业开启时可能就有着更立体的想象和需求：希望律所品牌强、老板牛、项目好、团队气氛佳，也希望办公环境高大上、离家近、周围有时尚入流的咖啡馆和小餐厅，而非抱持着“今天埋头苦干，明天延迟满足”的观念。

在工作初期积累的负面感受，很有可能对年轻律师一生的执业产生影响，如一位律师留言所说：“年轻律师需要的是专业能力的成长和可以预见的稳定发展路径，而非与个人所能创造的即时价值挂钩……国内不少律所或团队只注重同级之间的‘卷文化’，无法给中低年级律师提供安全感……不稳定的就职体验也会对职业规划造成负面影响。”

为了更好地了解年轻律师的感受，ALB与几位被调研者展开了进一步访谈，结果发现，“压榨感”可能是一种复杂的感受，虽然年轻律师中有时洋溢着这样的负面情绪，但他们对于压榨其实有着很理性的思考。

一位工作于北京某家精品律所的五年级律师分析道，“压榨感”可能和律所的制度相关：“在相对公司制的所里压榨感会少一些；在偏合伙制的所里，因为所有成本都是老板在担，工作安排等权力都在老板手里，压榨感会多一些。”

罗思翔是北京一家中型律师事务所的高级合伙人，他指出：“律师行业的工作强度和压力比较大，从学生身份转化成职业人，可能一下子适应不了，但是不合适用‘压榨’来定性律所职业环境。年轻人的成长一定是以时间换空间的，需要付出更多的时间、精力、努力，才能慢慢成长起来。”

李梽炜是四川一家规模大所的实习律师，他也比较认同这样的观点。虽然刚刚入行四个月的他已经感到工作量的饱和，但一方面，“能学到很多东西、提升自己”，另一方面，他所属团队内部真诚和谐的氛围，以及带教老师虽然繁忙，却仍抽出时间讲解案件思路、分析文书问题的做法，也让他感到“累并快乐着”。

实际上，律所的许多举措确实可以帮助年轻人对冲职业疲惫感，以及由此衍生而出的“被压榨感”。在调研中，50%的人表示自己希望拥有更多的私人休息时间，甚至“用一定程度降低薪酬”为交换；74%的人指出后疫情时代，“工作是否提供一定程度的灵活性对我来说至关重要”；此外，律所普遍强调的团建活动也真的能给年轻人带来快乐，80%的受访者肯定“律所组织的团建、休闲、员工回馈等活动对我来说很有意义”。

打破律所“资源垄断”现状

一旦锚定律师行业，晋升律所合伙人就会成为职业目标，为此，律所经常提醒并希望帮助年轻人“制定清晰的职业规划，展开按部就班的职业培训”。

然而，在许多年轻人看来，中国律所依旧在很大程度上是一种资源垄断型机构——律所内部权力以创收为基础，而创收取决于客户、案源资源的垄断能力。只有一定程度打破垄断，真正为年轻律师提供多元培训，并进行适当的资源倾斜，年轻人才可能全面成长，实现“升Par”梦想。

留言中，不少年轻人表达了对律所内部“资源垄断”的失望情绪。“律所无法看到年轻律师在职业发展方面可能面临的各项难题，不注重培养律师综合能力。尤其是在年轻律师成为合伙人之后所需要的市场开拓和律所管理能力。”一位律师说。

“律所资源主要掌握在资深律师或者主任手中。”一位律师总结道。另外的人则建议道，“律所应该正视年轻人的独立需求，开放一定的独立承揽权限给年轻人，而不是所有案件都必须登记在合伙人名下”；“律所认为青年律师执业就能拉案源，没有给到一定程度的案源获取培训或者是资源扶持，导致所内律师断层，主要是合伙人和助理，缺乏一定数量的独立执业的青年律师”。

还有人进一步建议道：“新一代年轻律师其实有对市场更加敏锐、信息来源渠道广等优势。律所管理者应当积极吸纳年轻律师成为律所管理层，为律所管理运营注入新的理念。”

在数据上，可能由于目前的管理层倾向于把持资源，缺乏长线思维，有65%的受访者在一定程度上认可“目前这一代的律所领导层已经失去了他们的领导力”。

已经做到高级合伙人的罗思翔回顾自己的成长之路，坦言：“中国律所大部分是合伙制，比较传统，也没有所谓的青年律师培养机制，更多是师傅带徒弟，把你‘扔水里边自己游’，你能游明白，能总结出方法论，未来就能够独当一面；要是游不出来，可能会对这个行业比较失望。”

不过在他的观察中，目前“一些品牌及头部律所建立的青年律师培养机制还是蛮好的”，但在成为合伙人所需的商业思维、表达能力、信息搜寻能力方面，目前律所的培养机制仍旧普遍缺失。

上述五年级律师也观察到，部分公司制律所的培训制度比较完善，“对每一层级的律师有不同要求，并提供相应支持，课程也比较完备”，但他指出，这样的律所也并非所有人的理想选择。“目前法律市场存在一类成熟律所，和另一类创业型律所。在成熟律所就得‘熬’，过程中可能会产生一种压榨感；创业律所可能允许律师有更多自己的想法，但相对来说也不存在所谓培养，只是给你更大的空间和支持，这是两种不同的模式。”

谈到针对年轻律师的资源倾斜，他的态度则比较悲观。“大部分律所都做不到，律师行业有所谓‘培养徒弟，饿死师傅’的说法，前辈培养年轻人唯一的可能性就是为了代际传递，比如说合伙人要退休了，TA把资源给你，同时在律所机制上能够以退休的身份继续获得利益。考虑到‘90后’律师目前还不在接班范围之内，要求律所培养他们的获客等能力，我觉得很难。”

“律所的资源归根结底掌握在头部合伙人手里，青年律师想要从前辈手里获取资源，我觉得是一件反人性的事情。”罗思翔也坦言。“但是前辈们需要有个认知：财聚人散、财散人聚，前辈需要设立相对合理的分配机制，帮助真正运营资源的年轻人获取比现在更多的利益，才能使大家形成一个利益共同体。”

“与此同时，青年律师如果纯靠等待，永远也发展不起来。尤其在前辈对你不了解的情况下，应该积极主动汇报自己的状态，你首先要有东西给到别人，别人才会有相应的反馈。”他说。

在资源分配上，李梽炜则表示自己所在律所目前运行着不错的机制。一方面，律所的公共案源部会拉出年轻律师的名单，每个月把部分案源牌号发到个人，并给收入较少的年轻律师发放补贴，“虽然不多，但也体现了对年轻人的关爱”。

另一方面，他所在律所还设立了四个级别的合伙人制度，更有利于年轻人实现阶梯式升级。“我们这里圈子不是特别乱，相对来说就是凭能力晋升，只要达到基础标准，就可以晋升4级合伙人。”他评价道。

至于是否应将更多管理角色赋予年轻人，如上所述，被调查者普遍支持这样的作法。罗思翔说：“不同时代的人有不同的认知，让靠谱并且有思想的年轻律师参与律所管理是有好处的。”但他也认为，“要有个前提——年轻人要先证明自己的创收能力，在这个行业已经拿到了一定的结果。因为律所管理的目的是让每个律师得到更好的职业发展、获取更高收入，一个自己都没有获得很好结果的青年律师，又如何能够帮助其他律师提高创收、挖掘发展潜力？我觉得这不太靠谱”。

个性与表达

在通过律师工作获得体面生活之外，如今，年轻人也渴望从工作中获取更多。归根结底，工作是人生重要的组成部分，也是帮助个体获得存在感、价值感、成就感的渠道之一。在这种“形而上”层面，年轻人不希望个体与组织之间是一种“零和关系”，而期待二者相互调和，彼此成就。

本次调研中，87%的人表示“希望在一家能够充分‘做自己’，而非压抑个性的单位工作”。而面对现状，一位律师评价道：“年轻人只要不遵从他们守旧传统的期待，提出自己的诉求，就被认为是‘眼高手低’。”

此外，78%的人表示自己“十分看重工作所带来的人生成就感”，70%的人则说，“如果可能，我愿意通过从事一些/更多公益法律服务的方式来体现自身价值”。

同时，年轻人也难以接受律所和自己的价值观过于背道而驰，78%的人表态，“如果无法认同律所在人力资源、管理方式、声誉、发展策略等方面的具体举措，我会选择离开”。

另一个有趣的发现是，律所不妨对“八卦文化”抱持更开放的态度：在自媒体时代，尊重每个人自由发声的权利能够帮助机构获得更多好感。调研中，76%的人认可所在机构一定程度存在“八卦文化”，即“年轻律师会议论律所合伙人、管理层、律所最新政策等”，但只有17%的人认为“八卦文化对于一家律所来说是有害的”。

谈到律师职业蕴含的价值感和意义，李梽炜很有感触：他自己毕业后曾在体制内工作了几年，最后是下定决心才辞职出来做了律师。“哪怕是一个刚毕业的大学生，肯定也是在权衡是否考公务员、是否去企业做法务等不同选择后，最终选择了律师职业，还是有抱负、有理想、想要寻求自我价值的。”他说。

此外，年轻律师的价值感不仅局限于自身。李梽炜今年28岁，他常和身边年龄相仿的朋友聊天，“发现大家作为法律行业的新生代力量，是有一种使命感的，我们绝不想再做那种拉关系、油嘴滑舌的律师，而想靠专业取得别人的认可”。

在工作中寻求自我与价值固然没错，不过从务实的眼光看，尤其对个性的追求，也需要具备智慧。“中国人有一种状态叫‘时中’，是说根据环境需要转换自己的状态。”罗思翔说，“我觉得刚入行不久的青年律师，更多时候需要收敛起棱角去适应环境，但同时在心中保持对棱角和个性的认可，并在需要的时候毫不犹豫展现出来。这需要我们去做判断，知道在某个时刻展现个性是对未来发展有帮助，还是会导致毁灭性的损失？”

上述五年级律师对此很有同感：“律所、团队都有自己的大文化，例如某些团队对文件写作方法、表述方式、文件字体等有很多限制，但其实好的文书也不都长得一模一样，这时候律师自己的一些‘工作个性’可能会被压制。”

“但整体来说，我觉得低年级律师可能要先磨去个性，更多去接受共性的东西，先学习别人的成功案例，同时随着成长，学会‘戴着镣铐跳舞’，表现出自己的特点和个性。我并不赞成所谓‘00后整顿职场’的做法，这个社会还是有它的运作模式和规律。个性的展露可能放在工作之外的时间比较合适。”他说。

谈到职业的价值和成就感，这位律师坦言，由于自己从事的主要是证券相关业务，可能不像通常意义上对于律师价值的想象，“能够伸张正义，帮助弱势群体之类”。实际上，他感到律师作为体制外人员，有时反而处于相对弱势的地位，而那些能够通过专业性和思辨力获得别人赞许的时刻给他带来了很大的成就感，他也因此把自己执业的理想设定为“做一个受人尊重的专业人士”。

李梽炜对于自我价值的检查方式则更为简单。“每天晚上睡觉前我会问自己一句话：能不能对得起今天的工作？如果要寻求安稳，我大可不必辞职出来做律师；既然出来了，就要努力把每一件事做到极致。只要答案是肯定的，今天就能睡得比较踏实。”他说。

 

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ALB Young Lawyer Career Survey

According to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Justice, as of the end of 2022, there are over 650,000 lawyers in China, with approximately 16 percent of them being under the age of 30. These young lawyers represent valuable assets for law firms, crucial for ensuring their long-term development. However, law firms still need to gain more awareness and understanding regarding what young lawyers truly seek for their career development.

 

Today, nearly all firms operating in China consider attracting and nurturing young talent a crucial aspect of their long-term development strategies. To achieve this, they focus on providing competitive entry-level salaries, building transparent and reasonable training and promotion systems, and aiming to offer meticulous care to younger colleagues in all aspects.

These efforts are indeed commendable and have yielded positive results. However, law firm leaders often express frustration when interacting with their younger colleagues. China's rapid development, combined with the constant evolution of the Internet and information technology, has created vastly different social realities and growth environments for different generations. This has inevitably led to significantly different outlooks on life and values across generations. The rules and moral standards once applicable to the legal profession may now be outdated. As one young lawyer puts it: "Firms always seem to provide us with what we don't need but ignore what we really need."

To address these mismatches, ALB conducted a Young Lawyer Career Survey in the past three months. Lawyers under the age of 30 from 20 provinces and cities across the country shared their first-hand observations and genuine feelings regarding the legal profession and the law firm environment from various dimensions.

Interestingly, the younger generation doesn't fully appreciate the various efforts made by firms. When asked, "Do the partners/management of your firm genuinely care about the growth of the younger generation?" only 36 percent answered yes, 27 percent were non-committal, while 37 percent said no.

At the same time, young lawyers point out that they still lack a real "spokesperson" in law firm management. Only 20 percent believe that lawyers under the age of 35 can participate in the development and decision-making of law firms to a certain extent. In contrast, 44 percent believe that lawyers under 30 can undoubtedly have a positive impact on a firm's policies, culture, and atmosphere.

MULTIPLE CONSIDERATIONS

Every spring and autumn, law firms organise various campus recruitment drives, aiming to attract graduates, especially those from top universities. Seventy percent of survey respondents hold a master's degree, and 18 percent have studied overseas. Their feedback helps us answer a crucial question: What factors do outstanding young people consider when choosing a law firm?

Some indicators remain critical, such as remuneration. Fifty-one percent of respondents agree that "the remuneration level of a law firm is an important consideration when I chose my current job." Besides salary, financial gains include various benefits, yet only about 22 percent of respondents are satisfied with the benefits provided by their firms. The brand reputation of a firm also holds strong appeal, with 68 percent of respondents stating that "the industry reputation of the firm I work for is an important consideration when I chose my current job."

Moreover, young people have a more comprehensive picture of what a lawyer's life should look like. As one interviewee puts it: "What young lawyers need is not merely a platform. In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, a decent income, reasonable commute time, a harmonious working environment, etc., are also important considerations for a career."

Among all respondents, 80 percent admit that "compared to the current salary level, I value more the project quality, future promotion path, and career prospects offered by the firm." Meanwhile, 90 percent say that "good leadership and a positive team atmosphere are factors that I value more in my work." Whether a firm has a harmonious atmosphere and can eliminate "toxic culture" is also crucial, with 67 percent of respondents acknowledging that "whether a firm advocates 'excessive internal competition' is an important consideration when applying for a job."

In addition, the devil is in the details. Some small matters can either hinder or help the decision-making process for young people. For example, 65 percent of respondents confess that "the convenience of the commute and the distance between home and office have also played an important role in my job search."

SENSE OF BEING SQUEEZED

After carefully choosing their preferred firm and embarking on their legal careers, many young people discover that the reality of a lawyer's career is less glamorous than they imagined. In this survey, more than 70 lawyers shared their feelings about practicing law. Surprisingly, the messages seem to reflect a prevalent sentiment among young lawyers that they are being squeezed by their legal careers.

Phrases such as "suitable for being mentally controlled," "willing to sacrifice," "exploitative," "lack of respect," "unappreciated," "treated like livestock," "overworked," "must be obedient," "subservient," and "cheap labour" appear in the messages. "Law firms believe that young lawyers should willingly contribute without asking for anything in return and be content with being asked to sit on the sidelines," writes one lawyer. Another says: "Law firms believe that young lawyers can leave at any time if they can't stand the pressure. Anyway, there is no shortage of young people."

Has "no pain, no gain," the supposed golden rule of many lawyers, lost its relevance among the younger generation? The answer is no. This survey shows that 62 percent of respondents "believe that a lawyer's reputation and income growth are related to persistence. I am willing to persevere in this profession and work hard for a bumper harvest." This illustrates that young people still believe in "working their way up."

However, as mentioned earlier, many young lawyers today have significantly better educational backgrounds than their predecessors. Those who have attended elite schools and hold high academic qualifications may have more concrete aspirations and needs when starting their careers. They want their firms to have a strong brand name, capable leadership, sophisticated projects, and a positive team atmosphere. Additionally, instead of believing in "working hard today for delayed gratification tomorrow," young lawyers also desire a modern and polished office environment and a workplace closer to home and trendy cafes and restaurants.

The negative feelings accumulated in the early stages of their careers are likely to impact the lifelong practice of young lawyers. As one lawyer says: "What young lawyers need is the growth of their professional capabilities and a predictable and stable growth path, rather than being pegged to immediate value that individuals can create. Many domestic firms or teams only focus on the 'rat race' among peers and cannot provide a sense of security for mid-level or junior lawyers. The experience of unstable employment will also have a negative impact on career planning."

To better understand how young lawyers feel, ALB spoke with several respondents for further interviews. It was found that the "feeling of being squeezed" may be a somewhat complex sentiment. Although young lawyers are sometimes overwhelmed by this negativity, they have very rational thoughts about "exploitation."

According to a fifth-year lawyer working at a boutique firm in Beijing, the "feeling of being squeezed" may be related to a firm's system: "In a firm that largely adopts the corporate structure, such feeling tends to be less severe. On the other hand, in a firm with a partnership structure, since all the costs are borne by the boss, and all the powers, such as allocating work assignments, are also in the hands of the boss, the feeling of being squeezed will be stronger."

Luo Sixiang, a 29-year-old senior partner at a mid-sized firm in Beijing, points out: "Lawyers face very high work intensity and pressure, but it is not appropriate to use 'squeeze' or 'exploitation' to define the professional environment of law firms. Young people can only grow by trading their time. They must put in more time, energy, and effort before they can slowly grow their capabilities."

Li Dongwei, a trainee lawyer with a large Sichuan firm, shares this view. Although he has been with the firm for only four months, he already feels the hefty workload. However, "I can learn a lot and upgrade myself." Further, the sincere and harmonious atmosphere in his team and the fact that his mentor, despite his busy schedule, still finds time to explain case methods and analyse documentation issues, have also made him feel "tired but fulfilled."

Many initiatives taken by firms can indeed help young people alleviate their burnout and the resulting "feeling of being squeezed." The survey shows that 50 percent of respondents want more private rest time and are even willing to "somewhat lower their pay" in exchange. Seventy-four percent of respondents point out that "whether the work offers a certain degree of flexibility is important to me" in the post-pandemic era. Additionally, team-building activities generally valued by firms can indeed bring happiness to young team members, with 80 percent of respondents affirming that "activities such as team-building, recreation, and employee appreciation organised by firms mean a lot to me."

BREAKING RESOURCE MONOPOLY

Once they embark on their journey as lawyers, young people set their sights on being promoted to partners. For this reason, firms often remind and hope to help young people "make clear career plans and undergo professional training step by step."

However, to many young people, Chinese firms are still, to a large extent, stuck in resource monopoly—the internal power of a firm is based on revenue generation, which in turn depends on the ability to monopolise clients and case sources. Only by breaking this monopoly to some extent, truly providing young lawyers with diversified training, and appropriately prioritising resources to young lawyers can they grow in an all-round manner and achieve their dream of being promoted to partners.

Many survey respondents expressed disappointment with the "resource monopoly" within their firms. "Law firms do not seem to appreciate the various difficulties that young lawyers may face in career advancement and do not pay attention to cultivating lawyers' comprehensive capabilities, especially the market development and law firm management abilities that young lawyers need after they become partners," says one lawyer. "The resources in a firm are mainly in the hands of senior lawyers or the managing director," concludes another. Others suggest that "law firms should face up to the needs of young lawyers to seek independence and let them undertake business independently to some extent, instead of requiring all cases to be registered under the names of partners," and that "law firms fail to provide young lawyers with a certain level of training or resource support in gaining business, resulting in an experience gap among lawyers within the firms, where there are many partners and paralegals but not a sufficient number of young lawyers who can practice independently."

One respondent offers further suggestions: "The new generation of young lawyers actually enjoys the advantages of having better market acumen and a wider range of information sources. Law firm leaders should actively recruit young lawyers into management to inject new ideas into law firm management and operations."

Perhaps because the incumbent management tends to control resources, 65 percent of respondents agree to a certain extent that "the current generation of law firm leaders has lost their leadership abilities."

Looking back on his career growth, Luo admits: "Most Chinese firms are partnerships that are rather traditional without any so-called training mechanism for young lawyers. It is more like masters teaching apprentices by throwing them in at the deep end so that the apprentices can figure out by themselves, summarise approaches, and be able to stand on their own in the future. Young lawyers who are unable to make it this way may become very disappointed with this profession."

However, in his observation, "the young lawyer training mechanisms established by some well-known and leading firms are actually quite good." However, there is still a general lack of mechanisms in law firms to train business thinking, expression skills, and information search and gathering capabilities that young lawyers require to become partners.

The aforementioned fifth-year lawyer also agrees that some firms that adopt the corporate structure have relatively robust training programs. "They have different requirements for lawyers of different seniority and provide corresponding support. The courses offered are also relatively comprehensive." He points out, however, that such firms may only be for some. "At present, there are two types of firms in the legal market: established firms and start-up firms. In established firms, you have to 'suffer,' which may result in this sense of being squeezed during the process. Start-up firms may allow lawyers to have more space of their own. On the other hand, apart from providing more space and support, there will not be much training. These are two different models."

When it comes to prioritising resources for young lawyers, he is rather pessimistic. "Most firms won't be able to do that. There is a saying in the legal industry that 'training apprentices will starve the masters.' The only possibility for seniors to train young people is for intergenerational succession. For example, if a partner is retiring, he or she will pass his or her resources to you while continuing to benefit as a retired partner under the law firm system. Considering that the 'post-1990s' generation is not currently in the line of succession, I think it is difficult to ask firms to cultivate their abilities to win clients, etc."

"At the end of the day, the resources of a firm are in the hands of the most senior partners. I think it is against humanity for young lawyers to want to obtain resources from their seniors," says Luo. "But seniors must also understand: when fortune is concentrated in one individual, people will leave; when fortune is being shared, people will gather. Therefore, seniors need to establish a relatively reasonable distribution mechanism to help young people who actually service the resources to obtain more benefits than they do now so that everyone can form a community of shared interests."

"At the same time, young lawyers will never develop themselves if they don't proactively do something. Especially when your seniors don't know you very well, you should proactively report your work. You must first have something to show others before others can provide feedback."

Regarding resource allocation, Li says that the firm he works for currently has a suitable mechanism. On the one hand, the public case department of the firm will draw up a list of young lawyers, allocate some cases to individuals every month, and give subsidies to young lawyers with lower income. "Although the amount is not much, it shows the care of the firm for younger colleagues." On the other hand, his firm has established a four-tier partner system, which is more conducive to helping young people achieve step-by-step promotion. "Generally speaking, promotion is based on ability. As long as you meet the basic standards, you can be promoted to a tier-4 partner."

Regarding whether firms should give more management roles to young people, as mentioned earlier, respondents generally support this view. According to Luo: "Different generations have different ideas and thinking, so it is beneficial for reliable and thoughtful young lawyers to participate in law firm management." But he also believes that "there must be one precondition: young lawyers must first prove their ability to generate revenue and prove that they have achieved some results in this industry. The purpose of law firm management is to enable each lawyer to enjoy better career prospects and gain higher income. How can a young lawyer who has not achieved very good results for himself or herself help other lawyers increase income and tap development potential? I don't think this makes sense."

INDIVIDUALITY AND EXPRESSION

In addition to earning a decent living by working as lawyers, young people today also want to get more from their work. After all, work is an important part of life, and it is also one of the channels that helps individuals gain a sense of existence, value, and accomplishment. Young people do not want a "zero-sum relationship" between individuals and organisations but hope the two sides can reconcile and support each other.

Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents say they "want to work in an organisation where they can fully 'be themselves' instead of suppressing 'who they are'." In reality, however, one lawyer comments: "As long as young people do not comply with the firm's traditional expectations and instead raise their own demands, they are dismissed as 'having high requirements but little ability'."

In addition, 78 percent of respondents say they "greatly value the sense of life fulfilment that work brings," while 70 percent "would like to show my own worth by engaging in some or more pro bono legal services, if possible."

At the same time, young people find it difficult to accept firms whose values are too contrary to their own, with 78 percent saying, "I will choose to leave if I cannot agree with the firm's specific measures in terms of human resources, management approaches, reputation, development strategies, etc."

Another interesting finding is that firms may wish to be more open-minded about the "gossiping culture": In the era of self-media, respecting everyone's right to free expression can help a firm gain popularity. In this survey, 76 percent of respondents agree that the "gossiping culture" exists to a certain extent in their firms, where "young lawyers will chat about their firms' partners, management, latest policies, etc." However, only 17 percent think "gossiping culture is bad for a law firm."

Speaking of the sense of value and meaning brought about by working as a lawyer, Li has much to share: he has worked in the government sector for several years after graduation before finally making up his mind to resign and become a lawyer. "Even a new graduate would have weighed different options before finally choosing lawyering as a career. So those who choose to become lawyers still have ambitions and ideals and want to find their self-worth."

In addition, young lawyers' sense of value is not restricted to themselves. Li, who is 28 now, often chats with friends of similar age, and he "finds that as a new generation in the legal industry, everyone has a sense of mission. We don't ever want to be the kind of lawyers who are only good at talking and relationship-building but want to gain the respect of others through our professionalism."

Meanwhile, Luo has his own reading of this. "We have a phrase 'Within the moment' in Chinese, which means changing one's state according to the needs of the environment," says Luo, "I think young lawyers starting out should, most of the time, keep their heads down and adapt to the environment while keeping their pride and individuality deep down in their hearts and showcasing them when needed. This requires us to make judgment calls to know whether showing our individuality at a certain moment will help or destroy our future growth?"

The fifth-year lawyer feels the same way: "A firm or team has its own culture. For example, some teams have many restrictions on document drafting, expression, even character fonts, etc. But in fact, not all good documentation looks the same. So, in this sense, lawyers' own 'work personality' may be suppressed. But overall, I think junior lawyers may need to keep their heads down first, accept more commonalities, and learn from other's success stories. At the same time, as they grow, they will learn to 'dance with shackles' and express their own characteristics and personality."

When it comes to the value and sense of accomplishment of the profession, this lawyer says frankly that since he mainly practices securities-related law, it may not fit the general imagination of the value of being a lawyer, such as "being able to deliver justice and help disadvantaged groups." In fact, he feels that as lawyers, they sometimes are in a relatively weak position, so those moments when he has been able to gain praise from others through his professionalism and critical thinking have given him a great sense of accomplishment. Therefore, he sets his practice goal as "to be a respected professional."

Li has an even more straightforward way of examining his self-worth. "Every night before going to bed, I ask myself: am I satisfied with my work today? If I wanted stability, I did not have to leave civil service and become a lawyer. Since I am already out of civil service, I must work hard to do everything to the best of my ability. As long as the answer is affirmative, I can sleep soundly that night."