Lawyers: Lives or Billable Hours?
"The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary."
So said Harvey Specter. But times have changed since Suit's 2011 heyday.
Predictions about legal talent touted flexibility and remote work as key trends in 2025 for hiring lawyers. According to the FT, US companies are making moves into the UK - looking to hire top legal talent in London.
But how to do this effectively?
You need to know what lawyers are looking for. Wisdom is here to help.
Wisdom's data tells us that 37.8% of lawyers want to leave their roles in the next year, including almost half of Gen Z lawyers (44%). And according to other sources, work life balance is the answer...
- Less than half of lawyers are satisfied with work life balance
- They're increasingly prioritising work-life balance over making partner
But is this still the case?
We put it to the test with Wisdom's survey of 50,000 people each year to see if these claims turned out to be correct.
It's certain that in the UK lawyers want flexibility particularly after their first few years. We found the top priorities for 18 - 30 year old lawyers were focused on the flexibility of their employers.
No. 4
Rank Work Life Balance
No. 5
Rank Flexibility
No. 8
Rank Remote Work
No. 4
No. 5
No. 8
Rank Work Life Balance
Rank Flexibility
Rank Remote Work
This became even more pronounced amongst older lawyers. Psychological Safety climbed up the rankings, and Work Life Balance became even more important to 30 - 50 year olds.
No. 3
Rank Work Life Balance
No. 5
Rank Flexibility
No. 9
Rank Psychological Safety
No. 3
No. 5
No. 9
Rank Work Life Balance
Rank Flexibility
Rank Psychological Safety
Differences across the pond
But (shocker), what works in the US may not translate to the UK. When we compare work priorities between the two countries, we can see both value work-life balance similarly - 3rd in the UK, and 4th for the US - but that the US ranks leadership and management far higher. The US is also much more concerned with psychological safety. American firms looking to hire across the pond need to bear these differences in mind - what works in the UK might not work in the US.
Friends at work?
Lawyers aren't bothered. They're not looking for friends at work, they just want time to see the friends they have. Regardless of how much experience lawyers have, all ranked work life balance number 3, flexibility in the top 6 - and friends at work in the bottom 3 priorities.
Experience changes things
Work priorities shift with experience, focusing more on management, exciting work and psychological safety.
- Lawyers with 5+ years of experience rank management no.4; less than 5 rank it no.10
- Lawyers with 5+ years of experience rank exciting work no.9; less than 5 rank it no.15
- Lawyers with 5+ years of experience rank psychological safety no.11; less than 5 rank it no.14
The data changes even more if you cut the data in other ways. So to find out what lawyers really think of work, book a demo today.
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