According to Chief Practice Partner Lauren Resnick, the increased emphasis the law firm has placed on partner interaction at the retreat has helped boost attendance from approximately 70-75% of its partners to 95% in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There really was a thirst when we were all under lockdown to have that connection,” Resnick says. “That transformed the way we’ve programmed our partner retreats. It’s become more obvious how important it is so people can get to know each other, get comfortable collaborating and develop familiarity with each other’s practices and our capabilities for cross-marketing to clients.”
Between 2021 and 2022, the number of law firms that held in-person partner retreats rose 21%, research from Withum reveals. In 2023, 51% of firms said they either were or planned to be hosting a retreat.
With numerous firms now sporting a hybrid structure, partners physically meeting en masse can be an infrequent — yet potentially profitable — occurrence. According to one analysis, partners at a large global law firm who attended off-site annual retreats experienced a 24% bump in new work requests.
“Across the industry, there is a clear recognition that bringing people together in the same place at the same time builds community and meaningfully improves how they work together,” says Natalie Loeb, founder and co-Chief Executive Officer of coaching and consulting firm Loeb Leadership. “Because every firm is different, each one needs to be very intentional about its retreat goals — what they want participants to experience, discuss and take back to their day-to-day practice.”
Partners at a large global law firm who attended off-site annual retreats experienced a 24% bump in new work requests.
Retreat Scheduling Considerations
While firms may tend to discuss similar themes at the partner retreats — such as business development, communication and leadership capabilities, according to Loeb — the other event details can vary.
The Massachusetts-based Mirick law firm, for instance, generally has its retreat in the fall but tries to avoid scheduling it too close to Labor Day because parents are getting their children ready to return to school, says Chief Operating Officer Diane Power.
“It's a hectic time,” Power says. “One year, we got a really good [hotel] deal and held it over Halloween weekend. Some of my partners couldn’t take their kids to holiday gatherings on Saturday because we were at the retreat. You want to pay attention to any religious holiday, long weekend; sometimes that narrows the window.”
Power has at times offered a choice of two potential dates roughly six months in advance — which provides enough notice, she says, for the firm’s 30 partners to know about upcoming events they’ve committed to such as weddings and graduations.
BakerHostetler’s partner retreat used to take place from Thursday evening to Saturday. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm began planning it on weekdays, based on attendee input.
“It became clear people wanted to be able to use the weekend as they wanted,” Resnick says. “We’ll typically start at lunchtime on day one. We’ll go through day two and then leave by mid-afternoon or lunchtime on day three.”
Where to Host the Event
Although travel and lodging costs are an additional expense, law firms may benefit from having partners meet in a new environment.
“Ideally, a retreat should be held off-site, not in the office,” Loeb says. “When firms ask us to deliver retreat programming in a conference room, participants are often distracted and may even slip back to their offices to deal with ongoing matters. That undercuts the entire purpose.”
With partners based in 18 offices, BakerHostetler alternates between West and East Coast destinations, Resnick says, to make attending its retreat convenient.
Power turns to event planners who work for companies that own multiple hotel properties and scours local and travel-oriented magazines to identify potential retreat locations. In-person scouting visits, she says, are a must.
“I’ve gotten burnt if I don’t go,” she says. “I want them to understand my vision for the weekend. I’ll look at it and say, ‘I don’t want to have the room where we do our meeting be the place we have dinner.’ It’s really important to see it.”
