February 3, 2006
The Law Firm's First String Team vs. Balanced Hours
It was another item of discussion during the LegalTech conference earlier this week. There is even a new book on the subject titled Solving the Part-Time Puzzle: The Law Firm’s Guide to Balanced Hours.
Yes, law firms can benefit profitably by taking advantage of part-time or "limited availability" resources. These resources can play a valuable role by rounding out the bench. There is a place for part-time availability in the law firm. There is a place for the dedicated attorney that must place personal priorities above professional requirements.
But will law firms in any significant number ever establish the issue of “a balanced life and work environment” as a primary objective of the law firm? Not in my life time or yours. If we are honest, a law firm has only a limited number of slots at the top, i.e., partners. A law firm has to have reasonable turnover as the bottom moves up. Likewise, existing partners have to move out and retire to make room for some of the associates who go through the professional maturing process. It is a profession where the young work long hours. Over time work hours decline as the professional matures and leverages their wisdom and knowledge off of the endurance of more youthful members of the profession.
Don’t get me wrong, the prize doesn’t go to those who work the hardest or longest. The firm’s first string varsity team is comprised of fee earners the firm can count on to get the job done. If they can do that and still make it to the soccer game or to the day care center, that is what counts. But as a service organization, a “balanced work/life approach can not take precedent over the requirements of the case or matter."
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Filed under HR by Tom Collins