Why Do Lawyers Work So Much?

Click to edit Master subtitle style -The Billable Hour

5/4/12

Purpose of Billable Hour

Its how law firms make money Easy way to keep track of young associates

5/4/12

Variables
Size of Firm Location Type of Practice

5/4/12

5/4/12

Controversy
Overbilling Overworking

5/4/12

Lifestyle Firms
Click to edit Master subtitle style

5/4/12

Lifestyle Firms
Allow lawyers to have an active life outside of

the office

Highly value the individual Less emphasis on gross accumulation of

billable hours

5/4/12

Typical Lifestyle

Emphasize

Firms

Government and

public interest law firms

Training Client development Community-related

Smaller law firms Law firms outside the

activities *Less emphasis on billable hours

metropolitan areas
5/4/12

Common Misconception
Arent Fox - notable lifestyle firm Chairman Marc Fleischaker This implication is that you dont have to work hard. We do work hard and we make a lot of money, so I dont want people to misconstrue who we are.
Lifestyle tag can hurt recruitment in a firm
5/4/12

Ropes & Gray

Ranked number one Best Firm to Work For

in Vaults 2010 rankings

Ranked based upon:

Satisfaction levels Benefits and compensation Relations between associates and partners Training and guidance Openness about finances and strategies Attitude toward pro bono work

5/4/12

The Economy and Work/Life Balance

5/4/12

The Economy and Work/Life Balance

There are laws and regulations Small Necessities Act, Maternity Leave, 40

hour limit
The economy can help or hinder your

business

5/4/12

Its All About Balance

The more you work, the less family time you

have.

The more family time you have, the less you

work.

5/4/12

History
Before 1874, there were no legal limits to the

amount you could work.

On average, Americans are working more

hours than they did before 1970.

5/4/12

Why?
The Billable Hour

You get out of it what you put into it

5/4/12

Women in the Legal Field

Do quit my job, or quit my family ClickI to edit Master subtitle style

5/4/12

Statistics About Women in the Legal Field

Women make up just 17% of partners at major law firms, even

though they have represented about 51% of law school graduates in the last 20 years
In a survey of lawyers ages 30-39 by the Oklahoma County Bar

Association
51% state they do not have enough time to spend with their

families
49% believe that stress from work has hurt the quality of their

relationships with family and friends

A survey of Harvard Law Schools class of 1993 revealed that

60% of the women graduates had left the fast track.

21% work part-time

9% 5/4/12 work with special arrangements (job-sharing,

nonconventional hours)

The Alternatives
Flex-hours Part-time Telecommuting only 30 percent of law firms have formal

policies for part-time or flexible work.

30 percent of part-time lawyers worked

more than 40 hours a week and 90 percent of firms had never elevated a lawyer to partner who was working part-time hours

5/4/12

What about the Daddytrack?

More male lawyers want longer paternity

leave, and more flexible hours when they have children Dad

In a Boston College study called The New

Male lawyers face a bias in the workplace that

fails to recognize their paternal responsibilities, and employers believe men are largely unaffected by children
When men needed to take their children to the
5/4/12

doctor, or pick them up from child care, they tended to do so in a covert fashion, instead of

Is Parenthood Possible?
Yes, It is possible
Law firm, Addleshaw Goddard, created the role of legal

director as an alternative to partnerships for women who want to combine work and motherhood. have developed lists of the Top Family Friendly Law Firms

Working Mother Magazine, as well as Yale Law School,

(Arnold & Porter, Mayer Brown, Wilmer Hale, Sidley Austin) These firms promote: flexible hours, leadership opportunities to part-time employees, phase-back programs for returning mothers

Overall, the legal field is competitive, demanding, and a difficult place to balance career and parenthood. However, the changes that several law firms are making will provide 5/4/12 for a more family friendly environment in the future of the