ALL WARFARE IS BASED ON DECEPTION

At some public forum a few years ago, Christopher Kolade made a comment about how governance was really about managing different interests. Well, there is a government at your law firm so you have to be apt at managing different interests. Coming across this idea of managing different interests was a eureka moment and paying attention will help you to understand the irrational behaviour of management and the resentment of employees. It just sometimes seems that both sides never agree no matter how good the intentions they profess are.

At your law firm the issue can be posed like this; what is the primary interest of management, what is the primary interest of employees and how much and to what extent can we make these interests happen.
Before going into the details of any firm crisis or problem, you should look into what interests are being promoted and who stands to benefit. It will not really help to couch self-interest as concern for others. This tactic has been tried and is not working.
Once interests have been clarified, you know what choices you have. For example, WalMart the retailer, paid hourly workers very badly in the early days. It denied them stock options and used them as much as it could. Little wonder that the labour unions found a great home with its workers for a while. This was largely because management really did not care for hourly workers.
What was the solution? Pay them better, give them stock options and listen to their complaints with the intent of addressing them.

If your law firm management is bent on treating its employees badly then it should expect employees to scram at first light. And if employees are shiftless and lazy, they won't be around for too long.
The point is, as long as both parties do not want the same things absolutely or largely the same things, then all words are mere deception.