The classic burnout problem has been an ever-present thorn in the side of the aspiring lawyer and, as problematic as it is, has long been seen as the price to pay for a richly – or even moderately – successful career. While the legal profession has been known for its resistance to change at times, let alone change to what was sometimes deemed by previous generations to be a winning formula for career success in the profession, whispers around the detriment of this ‘always on culture’ to personal and professional health have gradually turned into full-blown conversations since the dawn of the post-pandemic era and led to the high demand for flexibility we see in the discourse among legal professionals today. 

 This topic of flexible/remote/hybrid working has been the buzz of the legal space for much of the post-pandemic period, and although initially met with some pushback, most firms have now found themselves having to toe the line, whether that be to meet the expectations of the talent they are looking to hire, keep themselves in contention hiring-wise or keep existing employees happy. Legal professionals, particularly the Gen Z cohort, have been the prime advocates for this change in working practices, largely as a result of the burnout problem prevalent during – and exacerbated by – the pandemic. In an effort to counteract the effect that rising pressures on business have had on employee wellbeing, legal professionals have asked for respite in the form of flexibility – and after some initial resistance, employers now seem to be warming up to it.   

But 4 years down the line, the question has to be asked: Is it all that it’s cracked up to be?   

Flexible working – A double-edged sword? 

Some would argue that the answer to this question is a resounding yes, as the rise of a tech-centric way of working has proven to be key in establishing new, healthier and cheaper ways of working and living in a demanding and economically tumultuous time. The dreaded long commutes to work are a thing of the past for many, as are the headaches that fitting one’s work schedule around pressing personal and care needs brings on a weekly basis. The freedom and balance that such schedule offers cannot and should not be understated, and for over 75% of respondents of our latest Salary Survey report said to be currently uninterested in making a move any time soon, it was found to be their biggest reason for inertia.  

The other side of the argument, however, is that perhaps surprisingly, it is proving to be somewhat problematic. As instrumental as it has been in breathing a new lease of life into legal careers across the industry, it has ended up having quite the opposite effect for some. The rapid progression of technology during and post-pandemic has no doubt brought people more together and more connected than ever, but as this has as much intrapersonal implications as it does interpersonal, it consequently means multiple aspects of an individual’s life also become tethered to one another, blurring the lines between home and work. The near-seamless transition that a flexible way of working provides between these otherwise set boundaries – with the speed and ease of communication that email and digital video technology provide – make connecting with colleagues and employers as effortless and as easy as it is with family, friends and loved ones. Team members can reach one another with a simple Zoom or Teams call and are each only an email or text message away, and suddenly it almost feels like one is expected to be available round the clock. Without the physical barriers that dictate the end of a working day and the start of another, people are finding it harder to compartmentalise work life and personal life and as a result, are as switched on and connected mentally as they are digitally to colleagues and employers even after working hours. The FOMO that it can generate as a result is seriously detrimental. 

 Toby Pochron, employment director at law firm Freeths signals the practicality issue inherent to a flexibility-oriented work life, a rather ironic actuality – considering it was meant to eliminate rather than add to the ‘always-on mentality prominent in work cultures across the industry:

“Workers, for example, are constantly connected to not just friends and family but colleagues and employers through the same devices. The ever-present ability to check emails, for example, is a major problem. Once emails are checked, if “urgent” things are identified, there is a temptation to deal with them immediately, even if that means outside working hours.”  

Does flexible working boost or hinder productivity?

An even more poignant reality to discuss is its impact on productivity, and how, despite the general perception around the degree of autonomy flexible working offers, it can be a driver of burnout through the restrictive way in which it forces some employees to live their work life. A study conducted by the University of Essex and the University of Chicago found an interesting pattern with regard to the productivity levels of employees working in an IT company during the pandemic, noting that although working hours rose in that time – by roughly 30% – including an 18% increase in out-of-hours working, overall productivity did not significantly change. Technology was found to play a key part in setting this pattern, as the sharp rise in meeting hours and email traffic meant there was a greater cost to pay for seamless collaboration and communication, a cost that came in the form of their autonomy –a factor found by the NALP to be one of the biggest drivers of burnout. As one might expect, this naturally leads to the behaviours normally associated with burnout, such as regular working out of hours – to compensate for a perceived lack of professional efficacy, and a resulting chronic exhaustion that only serves to compound the productivity problem and ultimately the business’ bottom line. 

Such issues put significant strain on mental and emotional resources and also make formal and informal working relationships difficult to build or maintain for an employee, which leads to a distinct lack of engagement with and increased distancing from work life – another common sign of burnout. Dr.Christoph Siemroth, one of the researchers involved in the above study, remarked on its impact on general capacity to build interpersonal relationships both in and out of work: “Additional evidence for this view is that employees networked less – they had fewer contacts with colleagues and business units both inside and outside the firm.”  

This has a particularly marked effect on new employees trying to find their feet during onboarding processes and the balancing act of juggling work and personal responsibilities in a new and unconventional work lifestyle. The lack of person-to-person contact and informal interaction (which is often crucial to building relationships with colleagues and a strong sense of stability in the early days of one’s tenure) present in a virtual meeting compared to a physical one, can lead to a disconnect between trainee/manager and employee and make integration an even bigger challenge, exacerbating burnout as a result. Employees already part of the furniture aren’t immune to this intrinsic issue within flexible working either, as the nature of virtual collaboration dictates that working relationships are the focus of any interpersonal interaction made, with any informal talk kept to a minimum to prioritise productivity. 

So, when the evidence points to a clear trend, counterintuitive as it may seem to imply that flexibility can be detrimental to overall professional wellbeing, it is pertinent to ask at this junction: what are the reasons it’s doing more harm than good?  

The work-life balance conundrum

Employers are falling into the all too common trap of defining what work-life balance means for their employees, when one of the most pertinent things about flexible working is the term’s inherent applicability to all lifestyles – whether that be in the form of a fixed hybrid schedule, a malleable working schedule or a fully remote one. Not every employee wants the lines between their work and personal life blurred, while some need the two to be closely linked, in order to allow for a work pattern that best supports their preferred style of working. 

 A study conducted by Gallup to investigate the preferred work styles amongst the U.S. workforce highlights the importance of allowing employees to decide what a healthy flexible working arrangement is for them. When asked what work schedule would be the most ideal out of a choice of a 9-5 job (with a clear divide between work and personal life) and a blend of the two throughout a working day, the results showed that out of all participants, 50% preferred the former (termed splitters) while the other 50 chose the latter (termed blenders). What was even more interesting was that out of a survey of large-company CHROs, they found that HR leaders repeatedly underestimated how much of their workforce wanted to be splitters. 

While the former set of results did vary by work-type, the key takeaway from the research was that employees not working in their preferred ways were more likely to report experiencing burnout, be less engaged and most importantly to hiring managers – on the market for a new job. Making the choice for your workers or team regarding what manner of flexible working suits them best is counterproductive to individual productivity and can cause the aforementioned issues exhibited by individuals struggling with burnout – issues that, out of all the burnout symptoms, have been shown to be among the top 10 that impact health and longevity.  

Your legal team: understanding your ‘splitters’ and ‘blenders’

Your goal therefore as an employer when approaching flexible working should be to understand on what spectrum each member of your workforce lies – whether they lean towards the splitter or the blender type – and devise an informed solution that best addresses their needs. This is especially important where a neurodiverse employee is concerned, as they largely depend on this kind of support and understanding from their employer in order to thrive at their job. The best way to approach doing this is to make it a leadership problem first before an employee one, as due to the systemic nature of the problem of burnout, its root causes must be tackled at the top first, before any resulting effects can be seen on the workforce.   

As such, the onus is on a firm’s leaders to begin by cultivating an environment that prioritises strong relationships and builds autonomy, belonging, competence and individual gratification from work, as this has been shown according to research, to mitigate burnout in workforces. This can and should be done by incorporating this into any programmes undertaken by leadership figures in the firm, and going a step further to make it part of formal coaching, as this helps to make the concepts of risks and consequences of burnout real to leaders, and offers a more bespoke and systemic approach to resolving individual-specific challenges with resolving burnout in one’s team. A core part of this is involving and utilising employee perspectives and experiences, as this will best inform the solutions you intend to craft for your own workforce. 

When this is done, you put the control and autonomy that can otherwise feel out of reach, back into your workers’ hands, thereby enabling them to work in a way that best suits them, and tighten any gaps present in employer-employee/colleague relationships to build the support systems that a workforce needs to keep them afloat should things become difficult to manage individually (which is often the case among lawyers in the industry). And most importantly, you heal that fracture that appears in their self-worth as a result of the sense of professional inadequacy burnout causes, as well as the physical and mental exhaustion it can lead to.   

Perhaps most pertinent to the discussion hiring-wise, is its profound impact on retention efforts – as at the end of the day the simple math is – the less unhappy and burnt-out employees are, the less likely they are to be watching out or actively searching for a new job – an undesirable situation for any employer to be amidst a widespread skills shortage problem. As far as recruitment is concerned, it significantly broadens your reach to otherwise shut-out segments of the legal talent pool unable to find what best suits their needs flexible-working-wise, and keeps you front of mind to the kind of legal professionals your firm may find annoyingly elusive. 

About Clayton Legal  

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.  

 If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121.  

It’s been nearly two years since no-fault divorce legislation came into effect in England and Wales. Despite the legislation aiming to streamline proceedings for divorcing couples, according to the Law Society the average time for divorce increased to around 38 weeks post-reform, with a significant backlog of custody and family law cases tying up the courts. So, what further family law reforms are on the table, and how will any future changes impact firms working in Family and Private law?

Upcoming Government Family Law Reforms

Following on from no-fault divorce legislation, the government’s primary concern in family law reforms has continued to be with creating processes that reduce conflict in cases – such as improving access to early legal advice, providing vouchers for mediation, co-parenting classes and improving safeguards for victims of domestic violence – with the aim of supporting the wellbeing of children in separating families.

Following the outcome of the Private Family Law Early Resolution Consultation published in January a number of pilot schemes in England and Wales are being extended in advance of a national rollout with the hope that many cases will be resolved before reaching court. There is also an extension of an ongoing pilot scheme allowing journalists to report on family court proceedings designed to increase transparency in the family court system.

What Isn’t Included in the Plans?

Welcome though these changes are, there is still unfinished business when it comes to family law reforms, particularly legislation surrounding financial settlements in divorce cases and the legality of pre and post-nuptial agreements. Not to mention the legal protections afforded for cohabiting couples in the event of relationship breakdown.

Because there is little transparency around these issues, many clients approach legal separation with trepidation. The Law Commission is currently reviewing the laws around financial settlements however many feel that this process is too slow, and that any proposed changes will not go far enough. There have been calls from both Labour and Conservative MPs for the government to speed up reforms around financial settlements, albeit from different perspectives.

Baroness Deech has repeatedly pressed for pre and post-nuptial agreements to be made legal stating that ‘enacting pre-nuptial agreements into law would save cost, make mediation easier and significantly free up the courts.’

On the other side, Shadow Attorney General and MP, Emily Thornberry announced at last year’s Labour Party Conference that her party was committed to cohabitation reform to strengthen the protections available to those living together, particularly those couples where one partner earns significantly more than the other.

The Consequences of Further Family Law Reform for Firms

With the Law Commission currently reviewing the current legislation around financial settlements and the distinct possibility of a Labour government in the near future, it’s possible that we’re going to see continued family law reforms. But what could this mean for law firms, your Private and Family legal teams, and your recruitment strategy?

Putting tougher limits around the splitting of marital assets and reducing the extent to which outcomes are dependent on the discretion of judges could lead to a reduction in the number of large international divorce cases we have seen in the English courts. This may free up the time and resources of the family court system as could the stronger emphasis on mediation, as fewer cases reach court. Those that do make it to court will be easier to litigate and far less drawn out, resulting in lower legal costs for clients but greater competition for high-value cases from legal firms.

For Family and Private Law firms we could see:

• A greater emphasis on providing pre-divorce legal advice and mediation services.
• Smaller teams but with greater skill specialisation (eg. financial expertise, mediation techniques, child welfare etc.)
• A need to widen the soft and non-legal skills available in your team to include media relations, conflict resolution, communication, and empathy.
• Increased provision of training and development around domestic violence, child safeguarding and financial abuse.
• A need to widen the soft and non-legal skills available in your team to include media relations, conflict resolution, communication, and empathy.
• Increased provision of training and development around domestic violence, child safeguarding and financial abuse.
• A need to tap into wider perspectives through Diversity and Inclusion initiatives.

All of which might need you to rethink your talent attraction and retention strategies and target key skills to better support your long-term growth.

Clayton Legal has over 20 years’ experience helping clients attract and retain legal talent across practice areas that include Property, Personal Injury, Family, Criminal, and Costs law as well as Legal IT and Civil and Commercial Litigation.

If you are building your legal team, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The job market is evolving more rapidly than ever. The recent surge in the development and use of AI and digital technology has ushered in a highly competitive period that has seen a spike in demand for its incorporation in hiring practices and also to combat skills shortages gathering pace in certain sectors. Throw in a tumultuous economic background and it is clear that legal candidates today still find themselves having to navigate uncertain waters, in order to stay visible and attractive as a prospect to hirers. 

Nothing epitomises this more than the well-documented skills shortage widely seen across the legal industry today. A recent article in Fortune focused on this particular challenge being experienced across many sectors and is likely (according to the Future Of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum) to get worse before it gets better – referring to a ‘skills gap is so big that nearly half of workers will need to retrain this decade’. 

 And whilst employers are already feeling the impact and squeeze on their hiring and business objectives, employees too are well aware of the need to keep pace with the changing landscape and ensure their employability in the long-term. Upskilling and reskilling have become the talk of the town amongst legal professionals, but one thing that most commentators agree on the likelihood of a skills-based revolution, where certain soft skills are quickly rising in importance. 

While functional or hard skills are an ever-crucial skill area for legal professionals to develop, they are often given the lion share of attention, sometimes at the expense of some core soft skills that have proven to be crucial for career success. Regardless of whether you’re a fresh graduate or a seasoned professional, these are skills that will make the most difference in accelerating your career, as they equip you with the necessary qualities to help you manage your mind, communicate well consistently, and influence your team to improve their performance. 

This is particularly pertinent when discussing the future of work for legal professionals in the industry, as the role of AI and digital technology in streamlining processes, commoditising work and automating less complicated aspects of the job, is only set to increase going forward. In such a scenario what will be left for aspiring candidates to shield themselves from the resulting job slash is the chance to prove their worth in the high-value, complex, or newest areas of law, among which is the human-to-human interaction necessary for effective client and relationship management.  

Considering this increasingly becoming the general consensus around the impact of digital technology, it’s clear to see where the demand is going skill-wise. 

Soft Skills For Growth 

A highly desirable aspect of a legal professional’s skillset is the ability to manage themselves and their relationships with others through profound self-awareness, effective communication, willingness to listen and capacity take on feedback. And it isn’t just required to excel in your role, it is indispensable for personal and professional growth. 

Here at Clayton Legal, we assist candidates in developing their careers where we consistently share the softer skills that need to be developed. Below are the ones most important to build: 

Self-Awareness 

One of the key challenges when managing and developing a legal team is a lack of self-awareness from the employee.    

You will hear the term emotional intelligence shared in many circles. The term was defined as a person’s ability to manage their feelings and to express those feelings appropriately and effectively.  

(The original book on this topic by Daniel Goleman, is definitely worth a read).

Who has not come across a colleague in the business who has zero idea about their impact on others? A candidate once approached us looking for a new role because of the behaviour of a new manager in the business; yes, managers can lack self-awareness too.   

It appears that every morning the manager in question would appear with a sore head, grumbling and snapping at people. The individual had no idea how his behaviour affected the team.   

Self-awareness also covers motivation, empathy, self-regulation, and appropriate social skills.  

Communication Skills 

All professions include varied people with effective communication skills and some that don’t hold the ability to have a conversation. Summing up a procedure to employees with jargon-free lingo are all expected skills for someone to hold. However, talking over a team member in a meeting does not demonstrate communication excellence.   

A large part of being a great communicator is the ability to listen. We can all tell the difference when someone hears the words you are saying or when they are actively listening.   

As an experiment, notice how often people have their phones open during conversations or look over your shoulder at other people and what’s going on when speaking with you; worse, they sit on the edge of their seats waiting to interrupt.   

Active listeners, meanwhile, pay close attention to meeting presenters, offer up clarifying questions or responses, and refer back to notes in future discussions. They do not need things repeated to them because they heard them the first time, making active listeners respectful colleagues.  

Openness to Feedback 

This might sound like a different soft skill, yet a lack of openness to feedback often indicates an individual is stuck in a pattern and unwilling to learn.   

The ability to accept developmental feedback is critical for all of us; otherwise, how will we improve? Think about it; constructive feedback will help you do the best job possible when it comes to your role, and yet often, people take it personally and react defensively; when this happens, feedback is not heard.   

No one is ever perfect, no matter how long they have been in a role. Reflecting on this, when did you last ‘overreact’ to feedback?  

Growth Mindset 

Having a growth mindset leads to the ability to accept feedback. Individuals with a growth mindset see feedback as the gift that it is.   

Their mind is focused on what is possible rather than what is not. No matter what role, you will encounter roadblocks, disappointments, and other situations that might frustrate you. A soft skill critical to your ability to persevere is having a growth mindset.   

Dr Carol Dweck conducted the original work on this several years ago. Her book is well worth reading to identify if you have a growth or fixed mindset.   

For instance, someone with a growth mindset who did not achieve their billable target would look at this as an opportunity to double down and focus on what they could do differently in the next quarter.   

Whereas someone with a fixed mindset would see this differently, complaining that the target was too high, the clients they were working with were demanding, and the list of complaints goes on.  

Adaptability and Flexibility 

The last few years have been a challenge for many, yet certain employees have stood out above others; Two words describe them.   

• Adaptable 
• Flexible.  

 No matter your role in your business, the ability to adapt to change and a positive, flexible attitude about what is happening never go unnoticed.   

Many people have no idea how negative they can be when something does not go their way. Worse still, they become a classic mood hoover.   

Fact: Our business landscape is changing, and no matter what role you hold in an organisation, you have to be willing to adapt and change.

Analytical & Creative Thinking

Analytical and creative thinking are reported to be the two most important skills for employees in 2023 according to the Future of Jobs Report, with over 70% of businesses surveyed as part of the research, citing these as the most valued core skills. A purposeful increase in both of these cognitive skills clearly reflect the increasing importance of complex problem-solving in the workplace. 

Analytical thinking is the ability to approach complex problems or situations in a systematic and logical way, breaking them down into smaller components, analysing the data, identifying patterns and relationships, and using that information to draw conclusions and make informed decisions.  

It is of particular value in roles that require problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills such as data analysts, business analysts, financial analysts, engineers, scientists, strategists, and management consultants, among others.  

Employees who display these skills are deemed to make sound judgments and decisions, and solve problems effectively. Analytical thinking is also useful for identifying trends, opportunities, and potential risks in a business, which can help organisations to innovate and stay competitive.  

As a jobseeker, there are several ways you can highlight these skills during the process – starting with your CV; using relevant that demonstrate your skills here such as:

• “data analysis”
• “problem-solving”
• “critical thinking”
• “research”
• “logic”
• “strategic planning”
• “quantitative analysis”

Simply put, if you can provide concrete examples of when you have applied analytical or creative thinking, all the better.  

In your interview, be prepared to demonstrate your skills and discuss specific examples of how you have used analytical thinking to solve problems or make decisions. You could even prepare a case study or work sample that showcases your analytical thinking skills. 

Technological Literacy

Technological literacy is also deemed to be one soft skill that is growing in prominence and importance across a variety of sectors and roles. However, it is not just about using technology for everyday tasks like sending emails or using social media. It also involves having a deeper understanding of the underlying concepts and principles of technology, as well as its societal, ethical, and environmental implications.  

In today’s fast-paced and constantly evolving technological landscape, technological literacy has become increasingly important in many industries and professions. Jobs in fields such as engineering, software development, digital marketing, and healthcare require a high level of technological literacy, as employees need to understand and use various types of software, hardware, and digital tools.  

Moreover, technological literacy is essential for individuals to participate fully in a rapidly changing society and workplace.  

Demonstrating technological literacy is relatively easy to do on your CV and during the interview process – although it is important to list those that are relevant for the job in question. It is a good idea to include specifics here such as level of qualification so a hiring manager can assess your exact competencies from the get go. Additionally, be prepared to talk about examples where you have used your skills to solve problems or improve processes. This is arguably where you will stand out as a candidate… focusing on the impact these skills have had in your previous roles. 

Amongst the many developments we have seen emerge in the past few years, such as the gradual shift towards greater flexibility in the work life of legal professionals, the incorporation of AI technology into legal and hiring practices and the transition of the industry away from established traditional norms comes a particularly pertinent point of discussion – and contention – one that has (and will continue to) influenced how law firms will operate in years to come: The well-documented skills shortage experienced by law firms across the market.

Having an awareness of what these skills ‘are’ exactly is important – particularly if you are to be successful in your hunt for a new legal opportunity (and know the areas where you yourself may need to upskill).

Upskilling is more than just a buzz word doing the rounds – it is very much centred on the wider issues of skills shortages and ever-changing working conditions and environments that are affecting jobseekers and employers alike.And it seems like the focus on the importance of soft skills in giving you a competitive advantage (again, in your capacity as a jobseeker or employer) is not going away.

Simply put ,soft skills focus on developing a positive can-do attitude. A well-worn statement perhaps – yet developing abilities like this will help you navigate most things that are thrown your way while making you stand out as a potential new hire for a firm (as well as being areas to focus on if you are indeed in the hiring seat, and looking for a standout candidate to bring on board). 

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are looking for a new legal position or just want to speak to a recruitment expert about the current market, call our team on 01772 259121 or click here to submit your CV.

The last few years have been challenging for the legal sector. Dealing with the fall out of the pandemic, increased workload, and the impact of overworking on employees’ wellbeing means that many firms also now need to uplevel their leadership skills alongside recruiting new lawyers into their team to lead their firm moving forward.

In turbulent times, everyone looks to great leaders for guidance. Leadership resonates throughout a business, and the quality of your leadership can be the difference between your firm’s ultimate success or failure.

Good leaders exhibit specific traits which allow them to inspire, motivate, engage, and boost the productivity of their legal team.

Today’s post shares five key leadership skills for today’s legal workplace to develop in your team and those to look out for as you recruit.

The Ability to Set Goals Based on a Vision

Great leaders have a vision. All successful law firms were started because the founder had a vision of what they could create.

As you build your legal team at every level, remember that employees often join firms because of the vision and direction shared during the interview, as well as fair pay and conditions, and the opportunity to work with great clients. Unequivocally, elements such as this should be communicated as part of the hiring process.

Innovating and reacting to change is part of a law firm’s growth and is necessary for development. So, it’s vital to deploy your strategy to manage challenges while considering that you need a solid business plan that indicates where you are adjusting and setting relevant goals.

Effective legal leaders ensure everyone is on board with the strategic plan and its ultimate objective – alignment across the firm will be key to success.

Greater leaders can tap into team creativity, developing a sense of purpose that develops an inspired team.

Setting goals in a S.M.A.R.T.  way can also increase performance – specific objectives that are challenging yet achievable are more likely to inspire your team and give them something to work towards collaboratively.

Clear Communication Skills

Part of sharing the vision is the ability to communicate both authentically and with authority.

Law firm leaders must develop the ability to communicate with people at every level, from a stressed-out client to every member of their wider legal team.

Effective leaders must be able to express ideas and information to the people they want to lead.

Successful communication also involves clarity of message, which happens when leaders ditch the jargon and listen to what is important to their team.

As human beings, before we mentally agree to follow someone, we need to feel listened to by our leaders.

Decision-Making Ability

It is easy to assume that everyone in the legal profession has good judgement alongside the ability to make decisions. This occurs as lawyers handle complex caseloads, though not always when addressing challenges in the team or performance managing a difficult employee.

Lawyers are generally confident individuals by nature. However, making decisions in a team setting isn’t always as black and white as it might first appear, as highlighted by Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning professor who developed prospect theory which shifted opinions on decision making.

To make a good decision, you need to understand how different choices change the likelihood of various outcomes and how desirable each of those outcomes is. In other words, decision making requires both prediction and judgment.

Focus on listening and gathering data from your team as you would for any case you are handling, and you will notice how your decision-making ability improves.

Create a Learning and Development Culture

Here at Clayton Legal, we often ask candidates applying for roles whether the law firm hiring has a development culture and one where the team is encouraged to grow and develop. A stronger leader will make this part of the plan for their firm.

With advancements in digital platforms, online learning is easy to implement alongside more formal events in your firm.

Create a training program for your law firm’s team that allows them to engage at their own pace and with topics that interest them personally. These topics should be largely focused on the team member’s speciality and what your firm needs from them, but it’s also valuable to offer the opportunity to learn about areas outside of their speciality.

Being Accountable

Being accountable for both actions and results is the hallmark of a great legal recruit. This is even more vital when we consider the approach of our legal leaders.

Leadership accountability in your law firm is an essential component of a healthy culture. But what is an accountable leader, and how do they drive business results?

Being accountable suggests that leaders are ultimately responsible for outputs, which is true.
There are multiple layers of accountability, including business performance, company culture, client experience, and the legal workforce itself.

For leaders to be accountable, they need to be committed to the business and its people. They must take their role as people leaders seriously, building trust among team members. Accountable leaders clearly communicate their goals and objectives to their teams to foster alignment and team focus. They accept responsibility when things go wrong and give credit for success where it’s due.

What Next?

The legal sector experienced increased growth last year. Many firms are looking for new legal leaders and hires for their teams. This is where Clayton Legal can help. For a conversation about your legal talent growth plan, do not hesitate to contact one of our team.

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.

If you are building your legal team or looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

The last few years have created a shift in how we work like never before. Working away from the office became the norm in 2020, with hybrid working being adopted by many last year.

New’ human centric’ ways of working have been a topic of conversation for some time. Iceland was one of the first counties in the world to trial the four-day week between 2015 and 2019.

This took place in trials run by the Reykjavík City Council in Iceland, between 2015 and 2019 to move workers to four-day weeks. Over 2,500 workers were involved across multiple industries.

The trial reports revealed less stressed workers and a lower level of burnout.

Many employees moved from a forty-hour week to thirty-five hours, working longer on the days they did work. Iceland’s working patterns are overseen by a significant union presence who have negotiated different working patterns for over 85% of the population.

Similar trials are now being held in various counties worldwide, including the U.K.

The U.K. Uptake of a Four Day Week

The four-day working week campaign started in earnest as this year began. The Guardian shared that several U.K. companies had signed up to a six-month trial to work a four-day week.

Other companies, including several law firms, have spontaneously changed their working hours.

The organisations in question spread across many sectors, training, telecoms, software, video games producers and medical imaging. All are moving from a forty-hour working week to thirty-two hours without loss of pay.

Academics will facilitate the trial at Oxford and Cambridge plus Boston College in the U.S. and the think tank ‘Autonomy’. The campaign group, 4 Day Week Global, oversees the research project.

Companies taking part in the U.K. study vary from twenty to over a hundred staff.

Let’s explore the rationale behind this move and discuss if this truly is an option for busy law firms across the U.K.

The Evidence For a Four Day Working Week

The four-day campaign cites many reasons why working four days is beneficial for all, and I’ll share them in a second.

However, surprisingly the campaigners haven’t shared that historically our ancestors didn’t work very hard at all. Before capitalism hit the world, we had a lot of leisure time, though, to be honest, not a lot of money!

Daylight drove our working hours alongside regular breaks and, drum roll, an afternoon nap. If you want to read more on this subject, look at this fascinating report on working hours from MIT.

Coming back to today, the four-day campaigners cite many logical reasons to shift the way we work in the U.K., not least the fact that we work longer hours than most of Europe.

In light of what has happened with remote and flexible working, is it time for a review?

The five-day working week was developed over a century ago here in the U.K. when John Boot was the chair of the Boots corporation.

He demonstrated that two days off each week reduced absenteeism and positively affected productivity. Therefore, the weekend became official Boots policy in 1934; maybe as we approach the 90th anniversary of this change, it is time to shift again.

Both employers and employees can experience the benefits of a shorter week.

We all get a better work-life balance. The four-day week can give us time to live happier, more fulfilled lives and allow for those non-work parts of life that often are neglected.

For example, spending time with friends and family, on fitness pursuits or time in nature.

Then, of course, there’s always that life admin that we all have to deal with, like; shopping, cleaning, sorting out the bank, along with the many parenting duties we can experience.

As an employer looks out for higher performance and profits, trials have demonstrated that a shorter working week can increase productivity. A Henley Business School study pre the pandemic found that 250 firms participating in a four-day week saved an estimated £92 billion a year because their employees were happier, less stressed, and took fewer sick days.

Our economy could benefit too, which is undoubtedly needed. Incredibly, the U.K. suffers simultaneously from overwork, unemployment, and underemployment. A four-day week could be an intuitively simple way to rebalance the economy and address many problems.

Productivity is a concern for many. Google how to improve productivity as a critical business driver, and you will find multiple research papers that reveal that working less could be the answer to achieving more.

The Four Day Working Week and Law Firms

We are currently in the grip of a skills shortage in many sectors, especially when it comes to finding legal talent.

We are receiving more role instructions than ever at Clayton legal, and many firms we work with are reviewing their EVP to make their role offer irresistible. If you want to attract dynamic lawyers, could a four-day week work?

A recent post in The Times also suggested that firms keen to embrace flexible working might even be persuaded to abandon the billable hour.

In a post on Legalfutures, the CEO of one law firm in Kent revealed that his 22 strong team had started working a four-day week at the end of 2020, except two customer service staff who worked Friday and took Monday off.

His underlying premise of the four-day week was that productivity gains could be found by reducing or eliminating unproductive time in the traditional five-day week.

He gave as examples “unproductive meetings”, meetings with “too many people who did not need to be there”, unnecessary social conversations or staff spending time sending personal messages or on social media.

All logical observations considering a U.K. study in 2018 had found that up to 40% of workers’ time in a traditional working week was unproductive.

Admittedly moving to a trial of a four-day week would also mean additional work for your firm, at least initially, as you outline the process, including delivering billable hours, customer service and other vital business drivers.

However, it is clear that the world of work is changing for all professional service sectors, including law. The pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated changes into where individuals work – is it time to review how, when and how often?

About Clayton Legal

Clayton Legal has been partnering with law firms across the country since 1999 and has built up an enviable reputation for trust and reliability during that time. We have made over 5,000 placements from Partners to Legal Executives, Solicitors to Paralegals and Legal I.T. personnel to Practice Managers.