MWA - Merlin Wright Associates

A conversation earlier this week has stayed with me.

A Head of IP at a well-regarded in-house department described how he had recently sat down with one of his attorneys and encouraged them to explore the market. Not as a management tactic. Not as a warning shot. But as a genuine act of career support.

His view was simple: part of his role as a leader is helping people understand where they stand, what opportunities exist, and what is right for their long-term career, even if that decision ultimately takes them elsewhere.

In a profession where losing a senior attorney can create months of disruption and significant replacement costs, that mindset may sound counterintuitive. But I would argue it reflects one of the smartest and most commercially mature leadership behaviours I encounter in the IP world and one that remains far rarer than it should be.

THE OWNERSHIP TRAP

An unspoken assumption sits beneath a great deal of management behaviour in professional services: that people are assets to retain.

Loyalty is often expected to flow upward. Firms invest in individuals, and in return, people are expected to stay put, remain grateful, and avoid unsettling the status quo.

A senior IP partner I have worked with for many years has always challenged that instinct. His philosophy is straightforward: he does not own the attorneys in his team. He supports them. And if supporting them means helping someone move on because it is genuinely the right next step for their career, then that is what good leadership looks like.

Yes, it creates inconvenience. Yes, it leaves a gap. But he believes the long-term benefits: stronger culture, stronger reputation, and deeper trust from those who choose to stay, far outweigh the short-term disruption of a departure.

“I don’t own the people in my team. My job is to support them, even if that means helping them find something better.”

Research increasingly supports this thinking. Studies consistently show that employees who feel their organisation is genuinely invested in their development are significantly more engaged and committed. A 2025 analysis published in the National Research Journal of Human Resource Management found that career development programmes strengthen loyalty not through obligation, but through people feeling valued and supported.

The distinction matters. Loyalty rooted in trust tends to endure. Loyalty rooted in obligation rarely does.

WHEN RETENTION TACTICS BACKFIRE

Contrast this with the experience of one candidate we recently worked with.

After making a considered decision to leave his firm, he submitted his resignation to the senior partners. What followed was not a constructive discussion about transition or future goals. Instead, it became a prolonged and hostile meeting designed to undermine his confidence and pressure him into withdrawing his resignation.

He did not withdraw it.

But the experience left a lasting mark, not only on him, but on the reputation of the firm itself. In specialist sectors like IP, stories travel quickly. Attorneys talk. Lawyers talk. And how a firm treats people on the way out matters just as much as how it treats them on the way in.

Gallup research has found that 77% of voluntary employee turnover is potentially preventable. But the emphasis should be on the word voluntary. Retention is strengthened through culture, development, trust, and meaningful engagement, not through pressure or intimidation.

Coercive retention rarely creates loyalty. More often, it accelerates resentment and eventual departure.

“Managers who hoard their best performers quietly push people out. In 2026, leading organisations are starting to measure managers not just on who they retained, but on who they successfully developed.”

THE LONG GAME

Leaders who genuinely support their team’s development, including the possibility that someone may eventually move on, tend to build something that policies and benefits packages cannot manufacture: trust.

When people believe their manager genuinely has their best interests at heart, they are often more likely to stay. And when they do eventually leave, they frequently leave as advocates.

They refer former colleagues. They return later in their careers. They speak positively about the organisation in interviews, conversations, and industry circles.

An attorney who leaves feeling respected and supported is often far more valuable to a firm long-term than one who leaves feeling cornered.

PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS FOR IP LEADERS

If you lead a team of patent attorneys, paralegals, or IP professionals, there are several questions worth reflecting on:

• Are career development conversations happening regularly, or only during appraisals?
• Do your team members understand the opportunities available to them internally and externally?
• Are you able to separate what is commercially convenient for the business from what may genuinely be right for an individual’s career?
• How are departures handled within your organisation, with professionalism and respect, or frustration and pressure?
• Would your team describe your leadership style as supportive, developmental, and trustworthy?

Salary, benefits, and flexibility all matter. But research consistently shows that one of the strongest drivers of retention is the quality of the relationship people have with their direct manager.

CLOSING THOUGHT

The Head of IP I spoke to this week may well lose the attorney he encouraged to explore the market. At this stage, another opportunity may simply offer something his organisation cannot.

But the way he handled that conversation will not be forgotten. And in a profession built on relationships and reputation, that matters. The leaders who let people go gracefully are often the ones who never truly lose them at all.