Lawyers Weekly found that close to three quarters of respondents to a poll believed their law firm did not care about or allow work-life balance, with one lawyer going as far as to state that a firm used her like ‘slave labour’.
Culture
Of the 529 respondents to the question ‘Does your firm do enough to encourage its lawyers to maintain a work-life balance?’ 36 per cent of respondents said their firm has policies to encourage balance, but the culture does not allow for it. A further 35 per cent said that the firm’s only concern is the amount of hours people bill.
One lawyers who wished to remain anonymous said that she was not surprised by the findings and added that major law firms encourage work-life balance but do not ‘reinforce them’, suggesting that firms are not following through with their campaigns.
Long hours
Around 15 per cent of the respondents said that certain partners or practice group heads demand long hours were the problem, rather than the firm, while 14 per cent said that they had experienced positive changes within their firm regarding work-life balance.
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