Other pieces published on this topic have attempted to preserve the status quo by calling young lawyers snowflakes and drawing false equivalencies.

“They should get better jobs.”

“It is their own fault for entering a profession that is characterised by this treatment.”

“They should be grateful to have a job.”

“They should try being…”

It is always the employee’s fault for how they are treated and not the firms’ fault for how they exercise their duty of care. Capitalism at its finest (or worst).

So far firms have not addressed these issues, which are experienced by almost every junior lawyer in the industry, explaining the exodus of practitioners after two years PAE. Of those who remain, there is the dangling carrot of partnership and what happens when they get there, but I digress.

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Some firms consider themselves progressive because they offer mindfulness training – and I have written about this before – but you cannot “build resilience” towards being treated like you do not matter.

People in this industry talk, a lot. Firms should be worried about what is being said about them not just to the media, but also in conversations at networking events, in staff kitchens and in line at the cafe.

They are talking about how they work from 8am to 8pm with their supervisor still not happy. They are talking about how much time they spent on something they could not bill for. They are talking about how they are putting in over 12 hours each day for no extra pay. I could go on.

It is time firms stopped pretending the noise is in the background.

If firms want to be attractive places to work (beyond two years’ PAE) then they need to put in effect immediate change.

They must abolish the billable hour. It encourages unnecessary face time at the expense of productivity and quality. It leaves no time for proper care and training of juniors, as all senior lawyers can think about is how late they will need to stay back to make the time up.

Let us also make sure firms pay their staff according to the hours they actually work. In our capitalist society we all know that “reasonable overtime” means chaining workers to their desks until they burn out, and then replacing them.

While we are at it, make all senior lawyers undergo management training so they know how to train, manage and develop their juniors.

I tend to be cynical, so I do not think firms will do anything, but I know that we will eventually become fed up, unionise, and force change.

Nobody likes to be dragged kicking and screaming, but if firms will not act themselves, then I say bring it on.