Can I work in law and have a work/life balance?

Dear Oracle

Is it possible for solicitors to have a good work/life balance? If I start a family, are there part-time or term-time options? 

The Oracle replies

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It’s absolutely possible to have a work/life balance as a lawyer, but there’s no one-size-fits-all solution and what’s right for one lawyer may not suit another.

Working Families – the UK’s national charity for working parents and carers – listed four law firms in its most recent list of top 10 flexible and family-friendly employers in the UK. These were:

• DAC Beachcroft;
• Hill Dickinson LLP;
• Mishcon de Reya LLP; and
• Pinsent Masons LLP.

Within the top 30 on this list, the following nine law firms also featured:

• Brodies LLP;
• Clyde & Co LLP;
• DWF Group Limited;
• Freeths LLP;
• Linklaters LLP;
• Macfarlanes LLP;
• Mayer Brown;
• Norton Rose Fulbright; and
• Squire Patton Boggs (UK) LLP. 

In its 16th year, the benchmark survey, which collates the experiences of more than 296,000 UK employees, found that 94% of employers that took part actively encourage their managers to work in a flexible and family-friendly way. This list goes to show that law firms are adapting to the changing demands of its workforce to create flexible and family-friendly workplaces where people with families can thrive. It’s all about doing your research, speaking to representatives from firms you’re interested in who might have lived experiences of this and identifying practice areas that align with your priorities too.

Many of the solicitors we speak to describe their careers as a lifestyle choice – meaning that they accept that long hours often come with the territory of a high-flying, well-paid and/or professionally fulfilling career that they love. Law is certainly a demanding profession and, generally, the more a law firm pays, the more it’s likely to expect in terms of your time.

Read about LawCare’s most recent report on mental health in the legal sector, as demand for support reaches a record high.

That said, and as the list above demonstrates, many law firms are beginning to acknowledge the emphasis on work/life balance and the importance of rest for one’s mental health, with more effort being made across the industry to address this. Nearly 100% of the organisations that took part in the Working Families’ benchmark report offer support for wellbeing and 78% view flexible working as a way to improve operational effectiveness. However, it stands to reason that if you're being paid an eye-popping high wage to train, there may be times when you’re expected to put the hours in – all-nighters and non-existent lunch breaks included. If this doesn't appeal to you, it may be wise to avoid some of the City giants.

That said, corporate law firms aren't the only ones where work/life balance can be challenging. Legal aid has faced massive budget cuts and growing demand over the past few years, which has led to increasing amounts of pressure on lawyers.

There are various types of law firms and roles out there – from the big City firms to more regional and high-street practices, or even in-house positions – and the workplace culture will be different at all of them.

Some law firms are excellent at providing flexible and family-friendly working options; however, statistics show that many organisations in the legal profession still struggle to accommodate primary caregivers. This is borne out by the fact that more than half of all lawyers entering the profession are women, but there remains a significant drop off at more senior levels, which remain male-dominated.

It's increasingly accepted that the long-hours culture in the legal profession is very much biased against women’s careers, not to mention being bad for employees’ mental health.

However, with more women rightly advocating for seats at the top table and flexible working arrangements for both women and men as part of a wider movement towards gender equality and away from workplace tyranny, we hope that the days of law firms expecting themselves to come before their employees’ children are numbered.

If you’re unsure about committing to the legal profession for fear that it won’t align with your priorities, it may be worth gaining experience as a paralegal, legal secretary or legal intern to see whether law firm life suits you and/or your family. For now, one way to get a hint of how much a firm values the work/life concept is by exploring its website, particularly any firsthand accounts from trainees (profiles of whom can also be found in the Meet the Lawyer section of LawCareers.Net).

Olivia Thorne (she/her) is the acting deputy content & events manager at LawCareers.Net.