Written by Steve Preston | Partner at Eden Rose USA
When a lawyer leaves a firm, the immediate focus is often on the recruitment fee required to replace them.
But is that really the biggest cost? Most firms calculate the cost of hiring. Far fewer calculate the cost of losing someone.
Consider a simple formula:
Cost of Churn = Lost Revenue + Reduced Productivity + Staff Stress + Recruitment Costs
The recruitment fee is often the most visible expense, but it is rarely the largest.
Let’s take a Mid-Level Associate billing $800,000 per year. If it takes 6 months to identify, hire, and onboard a replacement, the potential revenue gap can be significant. Even if work is redistributed internally, existing team members often absorb additional workloads, increasing pressure, reducing efficiency, and raising the risk of further departures.
The hidden costs begin to accumulate:
Suddenly, a recruitment fee representing 25-30% of salary may look relatively modest compared to the overall commercial impact of the vacancy.
A simple way to think about it is:
Net Impact of Churn = Revenue Lost During Vacancy + Team Productivity Loss – Cost of Filling the Role
In many cases, the cost of leaving a position unfilled for several months can exceed the fee paid to secure the right hire.
The question for law firms is no longer: “Can we afford recruitment fees?”
It’s: “Can we afford the cost of continued churn?”
The most successful firms recognize that strategic hiring isn’t simply a cost of doing business, it’s often a form of revenue protection.
Sometimes the most expensive hire is the one you delay making.
Coffee Break Question: Have you ever calculated the true cost of a 6-month vacancy in your team?
We are on hand to discuss your recruitment requirements – emailus@edenroselegal.com