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Firms aren’t doing due diligence on flexible work arrangements
Most law firms have flexible workplace policies in place on paper, but many do not work effectively in practice, due to a less-than-supportive workplace culture, according to new research.
Jerome Doraisamy
Findings from the International Bar Association’s Women in Commercial Legal Practice report shows that firms are developing and implementing flexible working arrangements, but seldom conduct the necessary due diligence when putting them together.
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In addition, responsibility for the implementation of flexible working arrangements is frequently left to non-fee earners who are not in positions of authority within the firms, such as human resources.
“About one in two respondents to our survey had requested flexible working arrangements, and of those, 60 per cent were women,” said IBA legal policy and research unit adviser Kieran Pender.
“Among those who had not requested flexible working, concerns cited as to why they had not sought such arrangements included the perceived negative consequences for status, career progression and reputation, and that it was not feasible in light of role requirements.”
This suggests that the stigma surrounding flexible work persists, Mr Pender outlined, and the findings were supported by numerous anecdotal reports of partners quietly discouraging flexible working even where it was available in theory, he said.
“Another concern highlighted was the erosion between work and personal life that sometimes occurs as a result of flexible working,” he continued.
“The findings suggested that those who are paid to work part-time inevitably work longer hours but that this is not recognised by senior management.”
“If law firms are committed to allowing lawyers to work flexibly, then appropriate support of these arrangements is essential.”
On the question of responsibility, partners need to lead by example, and not leave such policy implementation to human resources and other non-fee earners, he argued.
“Fee-earners, and particularly senior partners, need to take responsibility for the implementation and championing of flexible working arrangements, as it is ultimately them who decide vital questions of promotion, work allocation and bonuses,” he said.
Lawyers will benefit, Mr Pender surmised, from having more stringently-monitored and conducted flexible arrangements.
“Established and regularly-audited flexible work arrangements would lessen the pressure on women and men who request such arrangements, decrease structural barriers to women being promoted to senior positions and prevent the continued erosion of the separation between work and personal life,” he said.
“This, in turn, would allow law firms to attract more diverse expertise, both in a gendered and generational sense.”
The International Bar Association is currently undertaking a global survey into bullying and sexual harassment in the legal profession.
