OPPOSITION TO lawyers adopting flexible work practices does not come from clients or co-workers, according to a new report released by Victorian Women Lawyers (VWL). Rather, it is more likely to come from partners and managers
by Kellie Harpley
OPPOSITION TO lawyers adopting flexible work practices does not come from clients or co-workers, according to a new report released by Victorian Women Lawyers. Rather, it is more likely to come from partners and managers.
The report, A 360 Degree Review: Flexible Work Practices, is based on surveys and focus groups of lawyers who work flexibly, their clients, co-workers, support staff and managers. It found that objections to flexible work practices that are attributed to clients and co-workers were more myth than reality.
In fact, clients suggested the real barriers to flexible work practices come from lawyers themselves and the culture of law firms. The report also concluded that managers who were supportive of flexible work practices, lacked the necessary skills to properly manage them.
Significantly, the report also found that flexible work practices often had a negative impact on the career of the lawyer involved. Only 44 per cent of lawyers working flexibly said it was possible to do so and maintain a career within their organisation, while 67 per cent were dissatisfied with the negative impact on their career prospects.
Also, lawyers in government and corporate roles were more likely to take a broader view of career progression than private practitioners, who were still focused on partnership and perceived a lack of realistic alternative career paths. Alice MacDougall, a special counsel in Freehills’ charity law practice, who works three days a week, says people think because a lawyer is working flexibly they have suddenly lost their commitment.
“I don’t understand, because I think to work part time requires more commitment – you need to be more organised to achieve it,” she said. “I don’t understand how a partner or manager can go from working with someone day to day and viewing them as a professional contributor to suddenly thinking they are not going to behave professionally.”
This attitude probably arose from a lack of training for managers who did not have time to think about the issues and simply referred to a stereotype. “You are still the same professional person, but I think your aspirations do change,” MacDougall said.
“I think a lot of people who go to flexible work practices just accept that it means they are not going to be partner.”
