Around 70 per cent of lawyers aspire to be leaders, according to research published this week.  However, there was a significant disparity between men and women, the figures revealed. While 79 per of men aspired to senior roles, only 66 per cent of women had similar ambitions. Stress and work/life balance was cited by more than 40 per cent  of women as the reason for not choosing the partnership route, compared with 20 per cent of men. Indeed the most valued benefit from law firms was flexi-time with one in five employers now offering this.

Job satisfaction

The survey also reported that one in three legal professionals received a bonus, dividend or profit share last year, amounting to as much as 14 per cent of salary. In-house lawyers and those working in a compliance role were most likely to recieve a bonus. The figures, from a poll of 3000 lawyers by legal recruitment firm Douglas Scott, also found that 63 per cent of respondents were happy at work whilst one in four say they are likely to look for a new job this year.