Re: While there may still be some law firms that nurture a young attorney
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11 Jul 2025, 00:23
1. Understanding the Context:
- The sentence contrasts two realities in law firms:
1. Some still nurture young attorneys' development
2. A prevailing factor makes such development opportunities scarce
- The blank must explain what causes the scarcity of career development.
2. Key Phrase Analysis:
- "Billable hours" refers to the practice of charging clients for time spent on their cases.
- The phrase suggests that whatever fills the blank about billable hours is crowding out mentorship opportunities.
3. Evaluating Options:
C. emphasis ( $\downarrow$
A. scrutiny: While firms scrutinize billable hours, this doesn't inherently conflict with mentorship.
- B. turmoil: Financial turmoil might reduce training, but the sentence specifically mentions billable hours as the cause.
- D. decimation: Too extreme - billable hours don't "destroy" mentorship, they just overshadow it.
- E. intrusion: Doesn't properly convey the systemic prioritization suggested by the context.
4. Why "Emphasis" Works Best:
- Perfectly captures how the focus on measurable productivity (billable hours) displaces intangible investments like mentorship.
- Matches the tone of professional discourse about legal industry challenges.
5. GRE Relevance:
- Tests understanding of institutional pressures in professional environments.
- Requires recognizing that "emphasis" can create scarcity of other values without outright eliminating them.
Final Answer: C. emphasis