Quitting junior lawyers find a voice (1 Viewer)

[MoonlightSonata]

Is this best done by complaining anonymously and presenting distorted tales of big firm life on a blog and in the legal media?

If there is insufficient attention being paid to a problem, the first logical step is to make those who contribute to or who are affected by it aware of the issue.

I don't see the grounding for your objection to their activities. Forming a collective of people who share the same concerns is a natural thing to do when confronted by a problem which is difficult to deal with individually. Forming a group also enables people to discuss practical ways of easing their burdens, learning from the experiences of others or simply sharing ideas about the issue generally. This process is aided by the internet.

As for anonymity, there are obvious reasons why one would not announce their true name and firm to the world when discussing these issues with others.

What non-trivial changes could they make? Big law firms have billed on an hourly basis for decades. (Assuming they don't raise the hourly fees) every hour not worked is less revenue for the firm. Which means lower salaries and less revenue per partner. That's a sure fire way to have the most hard working/lucrative partners and associates jump ship. If they want shorter hours (and less money) they can always work at a suburban law firm, work in government etc.

Well that is another question. I am sure the people complaining have a whole list of things which they find unreasonable which might be changed. I am not debating the effectiveness or validity of such proposals. My point was merely that, if someone is going to be castigated for raising concerns about issues within their industry, it is not really to the point that they might have expected it. That does not in and of itself mean that someone should refrain from advocating change for the better.

 

[Newbie]

i think its going to take something drastic before the law firms wake up

something like the entire graduate intake of last year quitting
and hopefully doing it before clerkship recruitment period lol


the blog is for entertainment. Mocking the work/life balance has always been the feature of all these career blogs. You cannot advocate change to a fundamental aspect of something. You cant do the hours and workload of a local firm and still pretend you are in BigLaw

 

[Frigid]

I remember reading somewhere that lawyers will roughly get paid 1/3 of what they bill.

so i would expect partners get a third and overheads are the rest.

but anyway, everybody needs a vent. if it weren't for the regular work gossip/whinge/bitch, there would be even higher lawyer depression/suicide rates.

 

[rubin]

Unfortunately I can only think to attribute the working conditions of the average lawyer to the fact that the legal industry is an employers' market. Look over at the accounting profession where employees rule in a market struggling to cope with a lack of good accountants:

- Big 4 accounting firms are readily accepting graduates with mid-credit GPA's.
- These grads generally work 9 to 5, five days per week (even up to management level).
- Remuneration levels, although not as high as equivalently-qualified lawyers, have been consistently rising over the last few years at an above average rate.
- Accountants as low as graduates are regularly taken on 'team building exercises' such as ski trips that graduate lawyers could only dream for.

So long as the big law firms have such a massive pool to recruit from, working conditions will always be excessively incommodious. Could the balance be shifted merely by lowering the number of law school places? Would groups campaigning for this, such as employee associations, have any hope at influencing unis?

 

[El Misterio]

Unfortunately I can only think to attribute the working conditions of the average lawyer to the fact that the legal industry is an employers' market. Look over at the accounting profession where employees rule in a market struggling to cope with a lack of good accountants:

- Big 4 accounting firms are readily accepting graduates with mid-credit GPA's.
- These grads generally work 9 to 5, five days per week (even up to management level).
- Remuneration levels, although not as high as equivalently-qualified lawyers, have been consistently rising over the last few years at an above average rate.
- Accountants as low as graduates are regularly taken on 'team building exercises' such as ski trips that graduate lawyers could only dream for.

So long as the big law firms have such a massive pool to recruit from, working conditions will always be excessively incommodious. Could the balance be shifted merely by lowering the number of law school places? Would groups campaigning for this, such as employee associations, have any hope at influencing unis?

You couldn't be more wrong.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Unfortunately I can only think to attribute the working conditions of the average lawyer to the fact that the legal industry is an employers' market. Look over at the accounting profession where employees rule in a market struggling to cope with a lack of good accountants:

- Big 4 accounting firms are readily accepting graduates with mid-credit GPA's.
- These grads generally work 9 to 5, five days per week (even up to management level).
- Remuneration levels, although not as high as equivalently-qualified lawyers, have been consistently rising over the last few years at an above average rate.
- Accountants as low as graduates are regularly taken on 'team building exercises' such as ski trips that graduate lawyers could only dream for.

So long as the big law firms have such a massive pool to recruit from, working conditions will always be excessively incommodious. Could the balance be shifted merely by lowering the number of law school places? Would groups campaigning for this, such as employee associations, have any hope at influencing unis?

That's not really true.

Whilst accountants are certainly in more demand than lawyers, the law recruitment market is strong.

Jobs forecast sunny for 2007

25 January 2007 - Lawyers Weekly

LAW FIRMS will need to find creative ways of attracting and retaining staff as the employment market for lawyers continues to thrive in 2007.

Recruiters predict this year will be just as competitive as 2006, meaning strong candidates will be highly sought after as lucrative opportunities overseas continue to fuel a mass exodus of local talent.

Lawyers at the two- to six-year level will be most in demand according to Rosemary Galic, senior consultant (NSW) Private Practice and International at Mahlab.

"A lot of lawyers we’re dealing with are Generation Ys and the strong ones are never on the market for very long. Firms have had to pick up the pace and act quickly. Some of the strategies the firms have adopted include increasing the involvement of partners in the recruitment process;, offering candidates the opportunity to meet with their teams; responding to individual requirements by taking into account their motivators; offering flexible work arrangements; secondment opportunities and new opportunities for promotion," she said.

Performance-based bonus incentives, attractive relocation packages and sign-on bonuses are also being used to sweeten already competitive offers. [...]

- Full Article

.

 

[Frigid]

more articles:

Cash-rich, time-poor: it pays to be choosy

Beware young lawyers – you may be walking into a war zone. The news that the Priory Group, the bolt hole for celebrities, has designed a stress-management programme for City solicitors should send out a strong message that you are entering dangerous territory.

Concern about the quality of solicitors’ working lives is being expressed at every level of the profession from irreverent comments on websites such as rollonfriday.com to the president of the Law Society, Fiona Woolf. Indeed, the society is taking it so seriously that it has been holding discussion sessions to “explore issues relating to working life at leading law firms”.

Stress, poor quality of life and a long-hours culture are commonplace among lawyers. And although these can affect people at all stages of their careers it is almost inevitably the new entrants, typically the trainees and associates under 30, who are most at risk.

In many firms this is seen as a rite of passage. If you are tough enough to survive it you have earned the right to move up to the next rung towards partnership. But, in any case, the business model for the most profitable firms makes it unavoidable that when late-night shifts or weekends must be worked to close a deal then it will be the junior people who will be called upon to take the strain. How could it be otherwise, indeed, when top City firms are committed to providing a 24/7 service to compete with their opposite numbers in New York?

It was no surprise then that the tragic death of a Freshfields associate a few months ago sparked off a debate about whether the long-hours culture in many City firms had reached an intolerable level.

First, though, be realistic. Lawyers in their twenties in successful corporate law firms are extremely well paid, earning incomes three or four times greater than their college friends who had entered, say, teaching. Long hours are inevitably part of the deal and most firms openly admit that if fairly frequent 12-hour days do not appeal, then don’t apply.

But while most trainees know what they are letting themselves in for when they apply, what they don’t know is whether they can cope with it.

Of course it does vary from firm to firm. Chargeable hours are not in themselves a definitive indicator of the total time worked, but whereas most of the largest dozen or so firms will expect about 1,600 chargeable hours a year from young associates, smaller outfits – such as the London office of Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons – will be content with 1,300 to 1,400.

But the wrecking part of the young lawyers’ lifestyle is when the regularity of the long hours becomes relentless. Being known to be compliant may mean that you are taken for granted. One of the key skills is to be able to dodge an excessive workload without appearing to lack commitment. As one associate said: “I’m quite prepared to work for several days at a time doing very long hours. But the problems arise if it rolls over from one job to the next."

...

Aussie firms must look beyond salary

HUGE SALARY increases in London will inevitably tempt young Australian lawyers overseas, and Australian firms may struggle to counter this desire to move with non-financial benefits, such as improved lifestyle.

“Australian firms don’t currently compete with UK firms on salary – they compete on lifestyle factors,” Elvira Naiman, managing director of Naiman Clarke recruitment agency said. “The majority of lawyers going to London are not just chasing the dollars but also the experience. This might give them more impetus to do so.”

John Chisholm of John Chisholm Consulting agreed that Australian law firms will always have a difficult time stopping young lawyers going abroad.

“You’re not going to stop people going to London or New York – it’s just going to happen. It is part of Gen Y, and most 25 to 30-year-olds are probably going to at least consider it,” he said.

“The trick for the Australian law firms is to make sure they come back, and make sure they come back better lawyers, and make sure they come back to me. And some of the firms work very hard in facilitating [this].”

Chisholm said many Australian firms are offering to set their staff up in their own foreign offices or an affiliated firm. The firm management reasoning is that if they facilitate an overseas move for their lawyers, most will eventually return, and do so with memories of how accommodating their old firm was, Chisholm said.

London pay rises are also likely to make it harder to attract UK lawyers to Australia, and keep their salaries in line with those of existing staff. Mahlab Recruitment has noted a trend whereby those arriving from overseas are receiving lucrative deals, and as large firms increasingly source lawyers from the UK to counteract their own losses to overseas firms, this trend is likely to continue.

Naiman said that “firms are going to have to get more creative about how to attract staff and know the real motivators for coming to or staying in Australia. The dollars and the work won’t be the reason why lawyers move to Australia”.

“The more firms offer things like yoga classes at lunch time, gym memberships, additional holiday leave, reasonable work hours, and other similar ‘lifestyle’ benefits – these sorts of benefits are more likely to attract people to come to Australia or perhaps be the thing that makes lawyers less inclined to move. If they can enjoy the outdoor lifestyle, their family lives, etc, then maybe they will be less inclined to view London as an option even despite the amazing dollars on offer,” Naiman said.

 

[Frigid]

Death of Freshfields' Courtney was an accident, finds coroner

The death of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer intellectual property lawyer Matthew Courtney was an accident, according to the findings of an inquest held this week (15 May).

At a hearing at Southwark Coroner’s Court, the coroner ruled that Courtney died from severe head and chest injuries as a result of a fall from height from a stairwell at Tate Modern on 9 February and that Courtney had not intended to take his own life.

The reporting police officer told the court that in his personal opinion Courtney’s death looked like an accident. It appeared his BlackBerry had been placed on the banister rail and Courtney had fallen when he had tried to sit next to it.

The court heard that Courtney had been working extra hours in the period before his death as a result of two projects finishing simultaneously. However, the coroner said he was unlikely to have been under more stress than others holding high-pressure jobs in the City. ...

Following the death, Freshfields was criticised by a number of national newspapers, which suggested Courtney may have been overworked. ...

In a statement, Freshfields said: "Matthew Courtney was an excellent lawyer with great potential. He was engaging and popular. Matthew will be greatly missed by all who worked with him."

now we can all go back to billing ad infinitum. RIP.