Consultant Cheryl Donaldson, drawing on over three decades of clinical experience, is challenging law firms to rethink what actually keeps talented lawyers from walking out the door.
Business development coach and podcaster Steve Fretzin recently sat down with Donaldson to explore a problem that legal organisations can no longer afford to ignore.
Young lawyers today are more willing than ever to leave a firm if the workplace culture does not meet their expectations and professional needs.
Donaldson brings a psychologist’s clarity to the question of what makes people stay, thrive, and grow inside an organisation, and what quietly drives them away.
Her framework for building a firm that people genuinely want to remain part of comes down to three non-negotiables that leaders must understand and actively maintain.
According to Donaldson, when any one of those three elements is missing from an organisation, things begin to unravel, often gradually and then very quickly.
One of the most pointed observations Donaldson raised was about what has been quietly eroded by the widespread shift toward hybrid and remote working arrangements.
When people feel like they are part of an assembly line rather than a functioning team, the professional connection that holds organisations together begins to break down.
“When people feel like they’re part of an assembly line rather than a team, they leave,” Donaldson said, adding that connection must be created intentionally or the talent walks.
The challenge for law firm leaders is that cultural cohesion does not sustain itself automatically, particularly when teams are dispersed across different working environments and schedules.
Donaldson also addressed the role of non-linear career paths, arguing that unexpected detours are not setbacks but are often where the most meaningful professional development actually takes place.
The lesson she carries into her work with lawyers and firm leaders is that those unplanned moments frequently shape the kind of resilience and judgment that linear career paths rarely produce.
Fretzin, a five-time bestselling author and host of the BE THAT LAWYER and Future Rainmakers podcasts, has spent more than 18 years coaching attorneys on sustainable business development.
His work focuses on helping lawyers build strong practices without relying on traditional sales tactics, using what he describes as his Sales-Free Selling approach.
The conversation with Donaldson reflects a broader shift in how forward-thinking legal practices are approaching retention, leadership development, and the long-term health of their organisations.