Margaret deliberately closed the door.
Jason noticed it immediately. He always did when Margaret closed a door like that.
She didn’t open a notebook or pull up data. She sat across from him, her hands folded.
“You asked me what I’m seeing,” Margaret said. “So I’m going to answer directly.”
Jason nodded. “That’s why I asked.”
What we’re seeing isn’t random,” she began. “It isn’t isolated either.”
“It’s not a hiring or compensation problem,” Margaret said. “And it’s not that mid-level associates suddenly don’t want to work hard.”
She watched his face carefully.
“What I’m seeing,” she continued, “is that the mid-level associates are thinning out. Not all at once, but quietly and predictably.”
“How thinning?”
“We’re losing people exactly when they should be anchoring teams,” Margaret said. “The moment when they understand the work, exercise judgment, and stabilize matters for everyone above and below them.”
Jason thought of Sam, his email, and the absence of a complaint.
“And that creates risk,” Margaret said. “Even before it appears on a spreadsheet.”
“Because there’s no one to do the work,” Jason said.
“Yes,” Margaret said. “And there’s no one to show what staying looks like.”
She leaned slightly forward, not pressing but clear.
Continuing, Margaret said, “When the mid-level associate level thins, work gets redistributed too quickly downward and too inefficiently upward. Juniors are stretched before they’re ready, and partners are pulled back into execution instead of leadership.”
Jason nodded. He’d already felt it.
“And culture?” he asked.
Margaret didn’t hesitate. “Culture becomes fragile,” she said. “Because people stop believing there’s a future to grow into here. They stop imagining themselves staying.”
“They’re not saying that.”
“No,” Margaret said. “They’re just leaving.”
She let the silence do the work.
“What worries me most,” she added, “is that these aren’t dramatic exits. They’re calm, polite, and grateful.”
Jason looked down at his desk.
“And what does that tell you?” he asked.
“They didn’t think there was anything to fix,” Margaret said. “Only something to exit.”
Jason’s jaw tightened.
“And recruiting?” he asked.
Margaret nodded. “Law schools notice patterns. Laterals ask sharper questions. Candidates want to know who they’ll learn from and whether those people are still around.”
Jason thought about recent interviews and the questions he hadn’t expected.
“If this continues,” Margaret said, “we will not only lose people but also our credibility with recruits, clients, and remaining associates, who will start questioning what they are waiting for.”
Jason remained silent for a long moment.
“So this isn’t about whether we’re doing anything wrong,” he finally said.
“No,” Margaret said. “It’s about whether we’re seeing clearly enough to respond to what’s happening.”
“Do you think we should respond now?”
“I do,” Margaret said. “Not because we’re in a crisis, but because this is the moment when patterns are still interruptible.”
Jason nodded.
“If we wait,” Margaret continued, “we’ll be rushing to replace people we should have been developing. We’ll end up fixing capacity issues instead of understanding why the mid-level associates left.”
“What do you think is really going on?” Jason asked.
Margaret didn’t rush her answer.
“I think the work still makes sense to people,” she said. “But the path doesn’t. Mid-level associates are working hard without seeing how leadership, judgment, and business development are developed here.”
Jason sensed the truth before he fully understood it.
“So they stop investing,” he said softly.
“They stop imagining,” Margaret said. “When that happens, staying becomes accidental rather than intentional.”
Jason nodded once.
“Okay,” he said. “So, the question isn’t how to stop people from leaving.”
Margaret met his gaze.
It’s about understanding why the mid-level stage no longer feels like a place where people can build from.
The door stayed closed. The firm kept operating, but for the first time, the problem had a name, and it wasn’t small.
The MSL Saga™, MLARD™, and the 85/15 Model™ are trademarks of Susan B. Silverman Consulting. The MSL Saga and all episodes © 2026 Susan B. Silverman Consulting. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.
