Roll on Friday
Freshfields is rolling out resilience training workshops to prepare Gen Z for the rigours of City law, just after one of its first apprentices resigned after three months.
Freshfields is bringing ‘Resilience in Action’ workshops to universities in a bid to neutralise Gen Z’s shock at the unpredictable hours, unmovable deadlines and unsparing feedback encountered at City firms.
Sessions will include demonstrations of how to remain “composed during partner feedback” (answer: dig fingernails into palm until they bleed) and advice on how to cut stress before “difficult calls” (answer: turn on the cat filter), according to training materials seen by Financial News.
It will also show future trainees a “centering technique” they can use if an urgent request arrives at 8pm when they had planned to leave the office (answer: do anything but poo in a can), and will recommend focusing on “what I can learn” rather than “I got it wrong” if a supervisor requests significant revisions to work ahead of an urgent deadline.
The battle for Gen Z hearts and minds has become a priority for law firms, some of whose partners have been left reeling by junior recruits’ insistence on limited (/reasonable) working hours, and their reactions to criticism and workloads.
Freshfields has its own Gen Z work cut out for it, having welcomed its first ever cohort of Solicitor Apprentices in September, only for one to quit after a few weeks. “I appreciate this will be very disappointing for you to say goodbye to one of your peers so early on”, Freshfields’ Head of Early Careers told the group, although she implied it wasn’t all work, work, work at Freshfields, adding that she was “Wishing you all some R&R over the holiday season”.
The loss of a Gen Z starter follows the high-profile resignation of an influencer who quit her training contract at DLA Piper after two weeks due to burnout.
Last year ROF revealed how Gibson Dunn had hired a professional support lawyer to provide “targeted training” and “individual coaching” to junior associates in its London office, because it had decided there was “more handholding/explaining needed for GenZ/post-lockdown”.
https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/freshfields-rolls-out-gen-z-resilience-training
