Editor’s Letter

‘Work-life balance’ is a hot topic for law firms today, if one that is likely to leave a number of more traditional lawyers feeling rather weary. In the ‘good old days’ a culture of long hours was usually accepted as the inevitable and reasonable price to pay for rewarding work, attractive remuneration and a career hopefully culminating in partnership.

Now the story is rather different. While the baby boomers were probably prepared for blood, sweat and tears in pursuit of their career goals, and Thatcher’s children expected to work hard to play hard, today’s generation of young professionals (so-called Generation Y) have a slightly different set of expectations of their working lives. Alternative careers are available and quality of life doesn’t necessarily equate to quantity of cash. Whether from a desire to spend more time with the family, or to soak up the full range of life’s experiences while still young, professionals are growing increasingly tired of being so time-poor.

Indeed, the issue has become so pervasive in the UK that Conservative party leader David Cameron recently singled out flexible working as a key part of his vision of a more family-friendly political party. He suggested that the right to request flexible working arrangements should be extended to parents with children over six years old as well as under.

Many law firms are now also embracing a more enlightened attitude to flexible working – to encourage greater diversity and to compete more effectively in the well-publicised ‘war for talent’. Ambitious and talented lawyers are now able to make more demands of the firms that employ them – and flexible working is one perk that could make all the difference. Addleshaw Goddard is one firm whose flexible-working programme has been received enthusiastically (p. 26).

But in spite of the current focus on flexibility, the UK actually continues to lead the way in long-hours. The government has consistently called for greater freedom over the number of hours that can legally be worked each week under the EU’s working time directive. Now the current (Finnish) presidency of the EU is suggesting that the UK and others could keep their opt-out from the standard 48-hour rule, but with a maximum 60-hour ceiling imposed as a compromise. But British business, eager to preserve long hours, argues the economy benefits substantially from freedom over working hours. They will welcome the suggestion that Tony Blair may be negotiating for a higher 70-hour limit, as recently reported in the Daily Telegraph.

The need for constant, consistent excellent client service means that law firms will certainly back the freedom to work long hours, but it is important to realise that this added productivity comes at a price. Suitable management policies should be in place to ensure resulting stress is kept in check – particularly when recent figures from Alcohol Concern put the economic cost of work-related alcohol misuse at as much as ₤6.4bn. The charity says work-related stress is frequently cited as a cause of excessive drinking and, tellingly, the same statistics show the number of deaths from liver cancer among lawyers is over three times the national average and the highest among all the professions listed.

This is surely a sobering thought for managers. Of course, a couple of drinks after a hard day at the office aren’t an uncommon occurrence in any business environment. But strong people management policies are needed for when a drinking culture becomes a drinking problem. At the same time, the option of flexible working could help ease those stress levels in the first place.

Richard Brent

Editor

Features

Outsourcing HR Free
Firms usually turn to outsourcing to cut their expenditure on non client-facing, business-support functions.

Opinion: Making the most of managers Free

Opinion: Hiring laterally Free
By Robert Halton, global chief people officer, DLA Piper

Training for success Free
With the legal training structure once again under the microscope, firms should take the opportunity to consider their own attitudes to trainees.

Case study: Making your move Free
DLA Piper learnt a number of lessons from carrying out the largest lateral hire in UK legal history.

Cover story: Just rewards Free
There are few bigger, more divisive issues for today’s law firms than partner remuneration.

Coaching: a culture shock Free
Coaching can help law firms to nurture and retain their existing talent, but it still needs to fully break through a culture that tends to put profits first.

A talent for flexibility Free
The ‘war for talent’ in the legal profession shows no sign of letting up, with the lure of packages put together by competing firms frequently winning over notions of loyalty. Addleshaw Goddard finds progressive flexible working policies can really make a difference