Trainee lawyers and agile working in a post-pandemic world

Answer

We are approaching the two-year milestone since the UK first introduced emergency measures to counteract the transmission of covid-19 in March 2020. Back then, a cohort of future solicitors were excitedly awaiting the beginning of their training contracts at small and large firms up and down the country. For some, the most immediate concern was finding the perfect office wear to impress their new colleagues while others were busy reconning the closest coffee shops to their law firm's office ahead of their first day.

However, due to numerous government lockdowns and restrictions imposed throughout the pandemic, plus a varied approach to organisations returning to the office across the legal sector, most trainees now qualifying in 2022 will have completed their entire training contracts without ever sharing the office with their colleagues five days per week. This means that those who were preparing to confidently take their first steps into the world of professional work two years ago, will now be among the first wave of newly-qualified (NQ) lawyers qualifying en masse who never experienced the "old way" of working.

Hybrid working is here to stay

The covid-19 pandemic created a paradigm shift in the way that lawyers think about working. Even the most avid pre-pandemic advocates of the hybrid model (ie, a mix of remote and office-based working) may have been surprised by how well the legal industry adapted to home offices and virtual meetings. Persistent myths, including the idea that the current technology wasn't capable of handling remote working on a large scale, or that employee productivity would decline, have been largely dispelled. Now that the remote working genie is out of the bottle, the future of work in the legal sector will most likely involve a combination of the traditional time spent in the office in tandem with remote working.

'Hybrid working' versus 'agile working'

However, it must be noted that hybrid working isn't necessarily flexible or sympathetic to the needs of the individual employee. For example, a rigid hybrid working policy (eg, one which mandates that employees work from home on Monday and Friday and are in the office on the days in between) doesn't offer employees the ability to choose the working location that suits them each day.

On the other hand, agile working is a distinct model of working that champions employee performance and outcomes instead of fixating on location. Proponents of agile working argue that trusting employees to make the best decision about where they work, instead of setting rigid rules and requirements about time in the office, can lead to greater productivity, decreased operating costs and minimising the environmental impact of the business. Similarly, agile working can create loyalty, improve work/life balance and contribute to better mental wellbeing in employees who feel trusted in their roles.

How different law firms choose to design their hybrid working policies will largely depend on their values, vision and attitudes within leadership. Many have prepared or implemented policies that will outlast the pandemic and reports in the legal press illustrate that a range of policies have already been adopted. Some firms appear to be opting for a more rigid hybrid model (including minimum visits to the office each week) while others have gone the other way, towards flexibility and staff preference.

Looking ahead, this will be an interesting trend to follow in the legal market. It may soon be the case that a firm's hybrid working policy will be a key differentiator in the increasingly competitive marketplace for talent, alongside pay, reputation and company culture. Therefore, firms must tread a fine line between giving their employees all the flexibility and freedom of remote working with the need for office-based collaboration which also helps to maintain a firm's unique culture and build trust and loyalty among staff.

Training and supervision in the age of agile working

By now, the potential and actual benefits of agile working for lawyers are well documented; from facilitating a better work/life balance, to improving mental and physical wellbeing, and saving time and money on commuting. However, for trainees at the beginning of their careers, these upsides must not come at the expense of the quality support, supervision and training standards that their firms are obliged to provide.

In fact, shortly after the pandemic began the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) reminded firms of their supervisory obligations and advised that they must continue to satisfy themselves that they have appropriate and adequate measures in place to ensure the effective supervision of their trainees, regardless of whether they are working remotely or in the office. Importantly, the SRA acknowledged that what is considered 'appropriate supervision' may differ depending on the types of work undertaken and the size of the firm in question, so firms have the flexibility to find solutions that are most suitable for them and their trainees.

Following the easing of lockdown restrictions last summer, the Law Society updated its guidance on good practice on the effective implementation of hybrid working arrangements as the industry prepared for a gradual return to the office. This guidance is particularly aware of the needs of trainee solicitors and, in the words of Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce, "these are some areas of good practice that should be taken into account when deciding working arrangements to ensure junior staff, and trainees in particular, are appropriately supervised and supported as the profession plans its return to the office".

Challenges and solutions to training when working remotely

Some of the key challenges of training during agile working, as identified by the Law Society, include:

• less contact and communication with direct supervisor (both formal and informal);
• difficulty in giving or receiving feedback when separated by a screen;
• misaligned work patterns; and
• struggling to build strong relationships with other colleagues.

Overcoming these challenges requires intentional action and using technology effectively. For example, concerns surrounding supervision levels can be addressed by maintaining regular formal catch-ups alongside other informal means of communication throughout the day (eg, instant chat).

Likewise, supervisors and trainees should frequently communicate about where they will be working, and try to align their time in the office together as much as possible. Similarly, a supervisor should think carefully about the most effective means of communication when providing feedback (eg, an email may be appropriate for providing feedback on one task but a video call, allowing the trainee to listen and ask follow-up questions, may be preferred for another task).

Finally, creating opportunities for junior staff to connect with colleagues in the wider firm, so that they can quickly build their network and feel part of the firm, should be a priority. This may be done through a range of methods, such as virtual drop-in sessions, 'coffee roulette' activities (ie, virtual coffee breaks with randomly assigned colleagues), and other informal communication channels which allow junior staff to connect with colleagues who they might not otherwise have had contact with.

It is in every firm's best interest to ensure that their pipeline of trainee talent receives the highest quality training and supervision. After all, the first wave of NQ solicitors who have only known the new way of working will swiftly be followed by the second, third and fourth (ad infinitum). Firms that don't have an effective solution to the question of hybrid working, which meets the needs and expectations of its trainees, may risk wasting the potential of their junior lawyers, and make retention and attraction of talent even harder.

Charlie Parker is a trainee solicitor in the corporate team at Michelmores LLP.