The structural barriers that can hold women back in law include the usual suspects; unconscious bias, discrimination, and a lack of flexibility. But perhaps even more important is the often-brutal workload expected in many firms, which makes balancing a career and family near impossible. It is no wonder so many women are leaving the law.

It’s not just about flexibility

Flexibility that enables women to better balance the demands of work and family clearly must be a priority, but in my view, it’s not the only problem to solve.

This is because flexibility is a “perk” that is usually offered without any changes to the demands placed on lawyers. Are parents supposed to be grateful they can pick their kids up from school only to have to log on again after dinner and work until midnight?

The bigger problem seems to be the crushing and unrealistic workload placed on lawyers in BigLaw that has been completely normalised, all while many other industries seem to be moving in the opposite direction. If law is creating workplace cultures that place unreasonable expectations on our people, then flexibility initiatives alone will not cut it.

Furthermore, flexibility isn’t enough to retain women in the industry if there aren’t other opportunities for women to advance their careers, be challenged, earn more, and take on leadership roles.

BigLaw status part of the problem

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One of the challenges in our industry is the status tied up in BigLaw. The narrative up-and-coming lawyers are fed is there is one main pathway to “success” in our industry that involves getting on the partner track in BigLaw. In pursuit of that success, many lawyers will sacrifice their time and wellbeing because it feels like there are no other viable options. This worsens once children are in the picture. Many women will inevitably burn out in this environment and feel like they have no option but to leave.

Realistically, there are many measures of success at work that are far more significant than a firm’s status — career development, great remuneration, work/life balance, meaningful work, autonomy, control over time, variety, and so on. Not only can these benefits be found outside of BigLaw, usually that’s the best place to find them.

So, what’s the alternative?

The choice should not be between BigLaw or leaving the law altogether. There are many opportunities in law that enable women to stay in the industry, achieve genuine flexibility, while working on interesting and important work.

Suburban law firms, like ours, enable women to progress their careers without sacrificing work/life balance. Making the leap to a suburban firm often involves a realistic workload, more autonomy, more control, and more interesting work as well as the ability to run a department, build a team, and pick and choose clients. There are more opportunities to work part-time, remotely, or from satellite suburban offices. Many lawyers don’t realise that moving to a suburban firm will often also involve the same — if not higher — financial remuneration as well.

What we need to do is shift the narrative that moving from being a small cog in a big machine in BigLaw to becoming a more influential player in a smaller firm is actually a step forward, not a step back. What this can mean for women in law — indeed for any lawyer regardless of gender — is a far more rewarding, enjoyable, and lucrative career.

Rolf Howard is the managing partner of Owen Hodge Lawyers.