|
news |
features |
students |
law firms |
practice areas |
expert witness |
events |
jobs |
subscribe |
RSS
|
|
Perils of part-time dismantled
Who says you can't be a successful lawyer and nurture your creative streak along the way? Angela Priestley finds that part-time positions in top firms are increasingly widening the options for lawyers with a life beyond the office
Traditionally, law has been the exclusive domain of the full-time worker and success measured by the number of hours devoted to the office. Since the 1980s and ’90s, however, flexible working arrangements have challenged this stereotype, changing the way lawyers work and, in turn, how firms recognise their input.
The new generation of lawyers were determined to “have it all” – a successful career as well as the energy and time to take care of children and family.
These days, the pursuit of work life balance has gone one step further as more lawyers move to part-time work for reasons other than their families – to write the great Australian novel, pursue a second career or to develop their passion for music, athletics or theatre.
A recent report from the Productivity Commission found that part-time employment across all industry sectors had expanded from 10 per cent in 1966 to 29 per cent in 2007.
Industry is changing drastically and, with no end in sight to the current talent shortage, experienced lawyers will be able to pick and choose from an “employee’s market” where they make their own rules.
It’s still unlikely that a part-time position at a big firm will open up for a graduate fresh from university. But the combination of a few years’ experience and a strong outside passion could make all the difference for efficient individuals who want flexible working arrangements.
Special counsel Becki Tam, once a student at the University of Sydney, was admitted into practice at Middletons in 1996.
Tam recently spoke to her direct supervisor about her future. “I expressed my continued interest in creative writing and asked if the firm would consider that I go part-time, working four days a week with Friday free to pursue my interest,” she says.
Middletons agreed, and Tam is now using the time to write short stories and structure a novel.
It’s an interest, she says, that goes hand-in-hand with her law career: “A lot of the work involved in law is conceptual and analytical. Part of it is wordsmithing and making communications more effective.
“Technical writing and creative writing are different, but they’re two skills that I love.”
Tam says that while fewer working days does not necessarily mean a decreased workload, it does make her more productive and “a happier person who’s able to interact on a good social level with lawyers and clients”.
Another lawyer pursuing an interest in creative writing as well as her law career is Angeline Yeoh, from mid-tier firm Maddocks. While raising a young child, Yeoh is using her four-day week to pursue an interest in writing for children.
And although she’s still “hovering” over her writing projects as opposed to seeking out a publisher, she says the ability to combine a hobby with work and raising her child allows her to be “a more well rounded individual”.
Yeoh says that part-time work has made her more productive in life in general: “It seems as though time is better utilised,” she says. “I have more energy on the days I’m not working and time to undertake the non-work part of my life.”
The first lawyer to work part-time at Maddocks was Terri Hamilton-Smith, who started on four days a week when she joined the firm in the 1990s.
With outside interests such as travel and music, the option seemed like a sensible one even years before having her children.
So how does she manage her time? Hamilton-Smith says: “I work closely with my partner – we have a set arrangement and it gets adjusted where needed with communication and [conferring on] what needs to be done.”
Meanwhile, on her days outside the office, Hamilton-Smith cares for her children, plays the violin. She has also travelled extensively throughout South America and is learning Spanish.
“I actually took a whole year off at one point to travel to South America and have since taken four to eight weeks here and there for other trips,” she says.
“I play Andean music – a form of South American music – and when I’ve done extended stints in South America that’s how I usually spend my time.”
In law there will always be deadlines, but there will also be lulls. Next time you are having a quiet day at the office, start thinking about what else you could be doing with your time.
This option, however, might not be the most successful one for the avid procrastinator.
According to all the part-timers Lawyers Weekly interviewed, efficiency is the key to building the part-time business case and lies at the centre of a successful part-time legal career.
21-Jul-2008
Related Tags
part-time lawyers
Related News
Legal community welcomes lawyer president
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Americans voted for change and change is what the legal community is likely to get, writes Angela Priestley
Slow market keeps local lawyers at home
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Australian lawyers looking to expand their experience overseas are finding that opportunities in international legal markets are disappearing as the world economy slows, writes Angela Priestley
Austcare’s Rapid Response Register is a roster of professional protection practitioners available for deployment to United Nations agencies overseas f ... [more]
