Research Purposes, Research Questions and Framework

The first aim of this thesis is to bridge TM and the legal profession theory, by contributing for TM and talent concept clarification in the context of the legal profession. The attributes required for career success in new-millennium law firms, linked with the identification of the most talented lawyers, their (and their peers) attributes and career prospects will be addressed, taking in the law firm’s setting and economic juncture.

The second purpose refers to build an integrated TM framework for law firms that supports TM practices and inform career management. Research on methods for talent identification that integrate the framework will be developed. In particular, performance appraisal, assessment centers, as well as ability tests and personality questionnaires will be explored as methods for the identification of talent, both for the identification of the most talented and for the identification of each lawyer’s talents. A combination of methods will be explored, through a cross-sectional design, in order to identify better-suited approaches to talent identification. A longitudinal design will be applied for exploring talent prediction over time.

Aiming at contributing to empirical support of TM in the legal profession, the third purpose of this thesis relates with gathering and presenting empirical evidences from law firms. Samples including only lawyers working in law firms of medium and large size, and stakeholders of the lawyering role are comprised, thus enabling an in- depth analysis of TM in the particular context of law firms and legal profession. For accomplishing this purpose three empirical papers were elaborated and are presented in the following chapters beyond the pilot study on TM state of the art. The research framework that integrates participants, methods and design of the three studies is presented in Figure 2.

Each chapter starts by presenting the research framework, highlighting the elements approached in the respective paper.

The first paper, presented in Chapter 3, is entitled “Talent management at law firms: Integrating performance appraisal and assessment centers data” and addresses the substantive existence of talent (general factor of performance or talent), and the role of performance appraisals and assessment centers for talent identification,

presenting a better-suited approach (methodology) for the identification of the most talented (high performers) and each lawyer’s talents (high performers and peers). A linkage with career is established. A cross-sectional design is used. Research questions are as follows: i) What is talent in law firms? ii) Does talent have a substantive

existence? iii) Are assessment center ratings predictive of performance appraisal ratings? iv) Can assessment centers contribute for

Figure 2. Research Framework.

reducing bias in talent identification? v) How to identify each lawyer’s talents? vi) How to link TM with careers?

The second paper, presented in Chapter 4, entitled “Is talent stable enough to be predicted? A longitudinal study of lawyers’ appraisals” includes a longitudinal

Talent Management and Legal Profession Theories

analysis of lawyers’ performance rankings over an eight-year period. A neural network that predicts performance rankings maintenance and change over time is developed. The substantive existence of talent is endorsed, replicating the approach followed in the first paper in an eight year period. Research questions are as follows: i) What is talent in law firms? ii) Does talent have a substantive existence? iii) Is performance stable enough to be predicted? iv) How to identify talent over time? v) Can high performers be identified early in their career? vi) How to link TM with careers?

The third paper, presented in Chapter 5, links the perspective of stakeholders upon the attributes required for career success with the attributes that distinguish high-performing lawyers from their peers, using a cross sectional design. Contribution of all lawyers with complementary talents for business sustainability is highlighted, and the revision of the up-or-out career model is upheld. It is entitled “High performers are not superheroes: Bridging exclusive and inclusive talent management approaches for law firm sustainability”. Research questions are as follows: i) What is talent in law firms? ii) Which attributes are required by stakeholders of the lawyering role for lawyer’s career success in law firms? iii) Which attributes (skills and abilities) distinguish the most talented lawyers? iv) How to identify each lawyer’s talents? v) How to link TM with careers?

Twelve law firms, members of Club Abogados and Amsterdam Club, participated in the studies. Both lawyers and stakeholders of the lawyering profession were enrolled. By including non-international law firms and participants from firms outside the US and UK, an additional purpose of overcoming the mainstream biased literature towards a US/UK centric approach (Tansley, 2011) is established.

The topicality of the studies varies, from the organizational level (e.g. TM challenges for laws firms) to the individual level (e.g. performance appraisal rating of each lawyer); but also approaching in the same study topicalities both from the

organizational and the individual level (e.g. attributes for career success, as identified by the law firms; and the attributes that distinguish the high-performing lawyers), allowing for comparison.

Design of the studies is both cross-sectional and longitudinal, allowing for an in-depth analysis of realities.

Twofold perspectives will be addressed: first, the firms’ perspective, by investigating talent identification methods and its linkage to performance appraisal, assessment of potential and career management, both for high-performing lawyers and other lawyers. Second, the lawyers’ perspective, by taking in self-reported measures as the personality questionnaire, as well as measures of potential (assessment center and ability tests) and performance (appraisal). Lawyers’ awareness in relation with feedback on own talents and information for career self-management will be considered.

However, for impossibility of reaching lawyers’ directly due to firms’ restriction, the viewpoint of lawyers will be out of the working scope. Also out of the working scope will be recruitment and development practices.

Chapter 3

A New Approach to Talent Management in Law Firms: Integrating Performance

Appraisal and Assessment Center Data8

Lopes, S. A., Sarraguça, J. M. G., Lopes, J. A., & Duarte, M. E. (2015). A new

approach to talent management in law firms: Integrating performance appraisal and assessment center data. International Journal of Productivity and Performance

Management9_{, 64(4), 523−543.}

Submitted August 2013; Revised January 2014; Accepted January 2014; Published

April 2015. doi: 10.1108/IJPPM-08-2013-0147

8 _{The evidences from this paper provided the basis for projects that were awarded by Financial Times (see}

Appendix A).

9 _{Q1 - Scimago Journal & Country Rank in Business, Management and Accounting Category (SJR = 0.78}

in 2015). Thomson Reuters Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI).

Abstracted and indexed in: ABI Inform, Business Source Alumni Edition/Complete/Complete :

Government Edition/Corporate/Corporate Plus/Elite/Main Edition/Premier, Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities in Management and Marketing, Education Research Complete/Education Source, Emerald Management Reviews, Ergonomics Abstracts, INSPEC, ProQuest, Ps ycINFO, ReadCube Discover, SafetyLit, Technical, Education and Training Abstracts, TOC Premier (EBSCO);

and ranked by: ABS (UK), Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Quality Journal List, Australian

Research Council (ERA Journal List), BFI (Denmark), JourQUAL 2.1 (Germany), NSD (Norway), Polish Scholarly Bibliography (PBN), Qualis, Scopus, The Publication Forum (Finland).

In the following pages a paper that pioneers empirical research regarding talent identification in law firms is presented. In the research framework, presented below, the elements comprised in the study are highlighted: lawyers as participants (61 senior- lawyer sample from a Portuguese law firm); averaged appraisals and assessment center ratings, as the method proposed for in-depth identification of each one’s talent level (high performers and peers), as well as each lawyer’s talents. A linkage with career, both in the perspective of firms’ management, and career management by each lawyer, is established. The design is cross-sectional.

Figure 3. Research Framework, Highlighting the Elements Approached in Paper 1. Talent Management and Legal Profession Theories

3.1. Abstract

Purpose – This paper proposes a new approach to TM that consists of

averaging performance appraisal and assessment center ratings for in-depth identification of lawyers’ talents.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach’s adjustment was

examined using a 61 senior-lawyer sample from a Portuguese law firm. Comparisons between assessment center and performance appraisal ratings were analysed using paired-sample t-tests and a kernel density function, and predictive validity was assessed with Pearson correlations. Evidence of both a general performance factor and two additional factors was verified using principal component analysis. Varimax rotation was used to verify three broad factors with job profile’s three broad areas.

Findings – Results suggest support for the assessment center’s predictive

validity. Its lower and more variable ratings overcome performance appraisal rating bias. Adjustment of the new approach to lawyers’ overall talent identification (the general factor) and each lawyer’s relative talents (three broad factors) was observed.

Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to the body of

knowledge regarding the substantive existence of a general performance factor, and adds to empirical research concerning talent management, which is lacking. However, generalizability requires broader samples and replication.

Practical implications – The approach is a methodology that informs

career management, high-flyers’ identification, talent mapping, development,

succession planning, team composition and diversity analysis. For lawyers, objective feedback allows benchmarking talent and managing one’s career.

Originality/value – This study pioneers empirical research that develops

methods for identifying talent in law firms, vital for firm sustainability.