legal workaholism (1 Viewer)

[Frigid]

just thought i share the following radar article with you guys:

Philip Freedman, 30, is another young downshifter. At 27, he left a well-paid but demanding career as a corporate lawyer with Freehills to work part-time for environmental organisations and do an art degree. He estimates his income is about a fifth of what it would be had he not left the firm, but says he enjoys life more. "There is less of a conflict between my personal values and those of the organisations I'm working for," he says.
Having asked himself "Am I happy?" and "Where do I want to be in 20 years?", Freedman reassessed his needs and set aside some savings.
He continues to be buoyed by a belief that security is too narrowly defined in Australian society. "I'm confident in my abilities to believe that if I am doing something I believe in, I'll be able to get by financially."

almost makes me wanna jump off the summerclerkship bandwagon and become an academic.

 

[matt#1]

I knew a lawyer who became a mathematics teacher at a highschool.
He hated law.
He loved teaching.

Similarly, my HSC Legal Studies teacher was a lawyer but left because he loved the idea of teaching and thought that being a lawyer was too cut-throat and demanding.

 

[santaslayer]

Similarly, my HSC Legal Studies teacher was a lawyer but left because he loved the idea of teaching and thought that being a lawyer was too cut-throat and demanding.

He should of done uni teaching.

 

[Meldrum]

Not to mention Clayton Utz Lawyers sleeping over on Sundays to meet deadlines.

Have Utz finished their deathstar yet? It's about time for them to militarily threaten the world order.

 

[melsc]

Similarly, my HSC Legal Studies teacher was a lawyer but left because he loved the idea of teaching and thought that being a lawyer was too cut-throat and demanding.

Same with mine, he only praticed for a lil while and now he prefers to teach legal studies...meh his choice

 

[011]

I don't believe that for a second. If you do something you know you like but isnt particularly well-paid, the only thing you can be sure of is that you'll be really happy with what you're doing, not necessarily so financially secure.

edit: I think my Anonymous Lawyer signature sums my position.

 

[Meldrum]

If you want money, do mining or petroleum engineering.

~100% employment, $75k starting salary which peaks out at about $400,000 for most. If you go management...well, it goes up.

 

[santaslayer]

do u have to do maths??

Mining as in *digdigdig*...

Maybe maths if you're the mining engineer...

 

[melsc]

do u have to do maths??

Do you know how many people compliment me on the fact I no longer do maths I was trying to recruit more no maths ppls when I was giving info about yr 11 subjects to year 10s last week...I was supposed to be talking to them about taking two languages and how grrreaaatttt it is...NOT

 

[xeuyrawp]

just thought i share the following radar article with you guys:.

Thankfully, I have no friends and generally enjoy work.

almost makes me wanna jump off the summerclerkship bandwagon and become an academic

Ack, don't put those ideas further in my mind!

 

[Meldrum]

Maths is teh roxzorz!

Don't put it down.

 

[melsc]

Maths is teh roxzorz!

Don't put it down.

I did advanced and thus was forced to do 2u bcoz my skool puts only one option besides maths in that line so u have to do one or the other in year 11...you could not pay me to take on 3u - that meant extra classes... I counted down the days from the beginning till the day I could drop it. General maths looked fun, but my teacher wouldn't let me do it

 

[Frigid]

more workaholism articles. this one from the August 05 edition of debrief, the quarterly publication of NSW Young Lawyers:

Increasingly, young lawyers in the UK are concerned about their work-life balance. In our 20s, we want to live life to the full, with opportunities to take breaks to travel; in our 30s and 40s we want to spend time with our families. With an increasingly aging population it is likely that we will be working for longer anyway and who wants to work 12 hour days when they're pushing 70?

Research commissioned by the Health and Safety Executive has indicated that about half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress at a level they believe is making them ill. Up to 5 million people feel 'very' or 'extremely' stressed by their work, and the costs to industry of this stress is a staggering £3.7bn every year. Research suggests that allowing employees more flexible working options such as part-time working, reasonable hours and career breaks will increase productivity, improve recruitment and retention and lower rates of absenteeism.

Yet despite all this evidence, the legal profession is one of the worst culprits for long hours culture. With billing targets and fierce competition for promotion, many of us end up spending more time at work than we would like. Gemma, a trainee solicitor in a top city firm in London explains "Working hours depend utterly on the kindness of your partner. They want more money and keep getting more clients and that translates into no life. Flexitime is not that widespread; people believe time behind your PC is good. As far as part-time? If you are a young lawyer, you'd best forget about it if you want to move up the ranks."

Peter, a litigation solicitor, says of his training "I would work till 8pm on a routine basis. Flexible working isn't something I've found. My previous firm had the attitude that you were able to 'work better in the office'. My current firm is more broad-minded but they tend to only let you work from home when there is a valid reason. Flexible hours are generally only an option if you're a partner."

Rob, a trainee solicitor in a large regional firm in Birmingham, says "We have flexitime with core hours of 10am to 4pm. This ensures that we always meet our hours but it does allow us to arrive later or leave earlier if we need to". Flexitime is becoming more widespread but, whilst this allows you to tailor your hours slightly, realistically most people can end up working the same long hours.

Part-time working can still be looked down on too. Philippa, a solicitor who juggles working four days a week in the office with three children, is frustrated that "I do just as many chargeable hours in four days as I used to do in five before the children were born. The expectations of me are just as high and I end up stressed on the days I am at work." There is also a feeling that part-time work is not suited to all types of work. For example, Mark, a corporate solicitor says he would love to work part-time but "I do transactional work and how do you run a transaction if you are off for a day? It wouldn't work".

Most firms also organise 'social events' in the belief that a few glasses of wine with your compatriots will make up for the fact you have not been in your own home, except to sleep, for a month. Such events can add to the burden even further. Belinda, a solicitor in Manchester, says "After a long day in the office the last thing I want to do is socialise with colleagues - I have my own friends. Also, there is a pressure to attend otherwise you will not be seen as a 'team player' and miss out on promotion."

Firms are beginning to recognise the benefits of encouraging a work-life balance and there is a marked difference between the working culture in London and elsewhere in the UK.

Lucy, a solicitor based in Norwich feels that "A work-life balance is more achievable outside London. Most people work from 9am until about 5.30pm. Whilst inevitably there are some late nights and weekends in the office, the partners understand that we have a life outside work."

Organisations such as the Trainee Solicitors Group and the Young Solicitors Group provide support for members by providing a help-line service for stressed out young lawyers and lobbying for better working conditions. However, firms need to change their mindset and appreciate that a more flexible approach will actually improve profitability. At present, sabbaticals and flexible working are generally only an option at partner level, but many lawyers leave the profession before this, stressed out and sick of spending so much time in the office. No-one expects a solicitor's life to be an easy one but hopefully in the future young lawyers will be able to juggle work and play and 'get a life'.

 

[santaslayer]

Are we supposed to be scared or optimistic?

 

[matt#1]

Are we supposed to be scared or optimistic?

a bit of both is probably pretty normal .

 

[Frigid]

Lawyers' Weekly interview with Tim Poulton, managing director of AAR

We certainly expect our partners and lawyers to look after their clients. We also expect them to look after themselves. And we don’t see those as inconsistent expectations. We are very good at ensuring an appropriate blend of life inside and outside of work for our people. We offer flexible work practices and so on to enable people to work from home. We’ve got good technology. We are also very keen on offering outstanding service to our clients. We think outstanding, clever and committed lawyers can achieve both outcomes. As a formal matter, we tend to think 1,300 or 1,400 hours per year is fair, but we don’t at this stage and haven’t ever driven our lawyers by budget and I think we may be one of the last large firms not to do that. But the 1,300 or 1,400 hours that we internally plan on getting is a lot less than others. It puts us in the middle range and is certainly a lot less that the London firms and the Wall Street firms and their staff. If it comes down to how you balance what you plan to do for the weekend with what the clients are planning for you, well, the answer is that you have to find a way. Finding that may be to get someone else involved and it might mean that sometimes you have to miss your cricket game.

 

[Angel45]

I knew a lawyer who became a mathematics teacher at a highschool.
He hated law.
He loved teaching.

Different strokes.....

If all else fails with my degree I'd so consider teaching law... coz I like the content of it... teaching it would be fun I reckon...

I'm doing communications too.. journalism and law - both tough industries! worries me sometimes :S

 

[04er]

after reading about those freak mindless drones... i think i might aim towards a part-time career. I'm not going to let myself get caught up in such bull shit. But then again, is it even worth my time pursuing a part-time career, or will I find myself on the verge of poverty - desperately seeking financial support!? *carefully reconsiders law degree... and then realises that my second choice, vet sci, is also a lot of work*

By the way, does anyone know if 'every' law firm is like that, and thus it's difficult for law graduates to find that balance, or is it only when someone is too money/promotion driven?

 

[matt#1]

after reading about those freak mindless drones... i think i might aim towards a part-time career. I'm not going to let myself get caught up in such bull shit. But then again, is it even worth my time pursuing a part-time career, or will I find myself on the verge of poverty - desperately seeking financial support!? *carefully reconsiders law degree... and then realises that my second choice, vet sci, is also a lot of work*

By the way, does anyone know if 'every' law firm is like that, and thus it's difficult for law graduates to find that balance, or is it only when someone is too money/promotion driven?

quit complaining. A little bit of hard work never killed anyone. I hope .

 

[Frigid]

after reading about those freak mindless drones... i think i might aim towards a part-time career.

good-fucking-luck

part-time law firm job... you wish...

By the way, does anyone know if 'every' law firm is like that, and thus it's difficult for law graduates to find that balance, or is it only when someone is too money/promotion driven?

the corporates are always gonna work you hard. if you find a smaller firm, there's less pressure to work as hard and bill as much. but of course, you sacrifice pay.