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? And if I start a family, are there part-time or term-time options? 

The Oracle replies

Reading time: three minutes

It’s 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.

Many of the solicitors we speak to describe their careers as a lifestyle choice – meaning that they accept that long hours 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 firm pays, the more it’s likely to expect in terms of your time. The legal environment is slowly acknowledging 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. However, it stands to reason that if you're being paid an eye-popping high wage to train, you’ll be 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 those magic circle and City giants.

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

You’re more likely to find a good work/life balance at regional and high-street firms or as in-house counsel, where the workplace culture is built with slightly different priorities. Nevertheless, some law firms are adapting to changing expectations. For example, law firm Irwin Mitchell LLP recognised flexible working to be an increasing priority for colleagues and devised a ‘Flexible by Choice’ model in response, which allows employees to choose where and when they work. If you’re unsure about committing to the profession, it may be worth gaining experience as a paralegal, legal secretary or legal intern to see whether law firm life suits you. The conversation around work/life balance entered a new realm of discussion with the enforcement of remote working during the covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.The notion of ‘flexible’ working is one that’s been on the cards for some time. While several law firms have already implemented flexible working hours, some still have a long way to go. Now that the pandemic is behind us, some firms have continued with their adoption of flexible working while others demanded employees to return to the office full time.

Part-time or term-time working are options that may well be open to you later in your career when you’ve built up a level of seniority and experience. However, this may be challenging to get employers to agree to without you already having good career experience or a good track record with the firm. 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. That said, some firms are more family-friendly than others.

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 first-hand accounts from trainees (profiles of whom can also be found in the Meet the Lawyer section of LawCareers.Net). Although such profiles must be viewed through a prism of healthy cynicism, you’ll at least discover whether life outside the job is mentioned – or noticeable by its absence!