Katlyn S. Caldwell and Addison Watson
What does it mean when new arrivals are bailing out at a once-prestigious law firm? It's likely not a good sign. Specifically, it probably means the newbies see the firm as headed in the wrong direction, one that means the firm might not serve as a solid long-term home for a young lawyer.
That is one of many issues swirling around Birmingham's scandal-plauged Balch & Bingham law firm, according to a report at banbalch.com. Writes Publisher K.B. Forbes:
In August, after only two years at Balch & Bingham, Addison Watson departed to the private sector.
This week, after four years as a Balch attorney, Katlyn S. Caldwell looks like she has left the embattled firm abruptly.
With an ex-Balch attorney who allegedly solicited a child for sex online and another ex-Balch partner sitting in the federal penitentiary, young attorneys at Balch are exiting just like the exodus of legacy and money-making partners in the recent past.
Balch, it appears, continues to have problems with its few attorneys of color:
As the alleged racist law firm saw an African-American attorney depart after only eight short months, the embattled firm has hired three African-American attorneys in recent weeks.
Demonstrating alleged racial tokenism, Balch has placed each of them in a different office (Birmingham, Jackson and Atlanta).
Even with these diverse hires, about 95 percent of Balch attorneys are white, while 99 percent of partners are white.
Only 1 percent of Balch partners are people of color.
It all presents an image of a law firm in disarray. Writes Forbes:
Young people running to the exits and not dedicating decades with the firm appears to show turmoil, unsettling turmoil in what was Alabama’s once most respected and feared silk-stocking law firms.
And no matter the amount of window dressing Balch engages in, who can believe a law firm that refuses to apologize for the criminal and alleged racist misconduct in North Birmingham?
And sadly, now not even the freshmen appear to have confidence in Balch.
