Could Your Law Firm Implement A Four-Day Working Week?

There have been a series of articles recently discussing the extraordinary hours put in by junior solicitors in the top 100 UK lawn firms. With starting salaries of £170,000 in some firms, 13-hour days are not uncommon, and weekend work is often expected.

Outside of the world of multi-million pound M&A deals, Solicitors still average 40-50 hour workweeks. In our digital world of instant answers, they are under more pressure than ever to deliver advice swiftly and cost-effectively.

Given the above, is it possible to conceive of a law firm that can reduce the amount of time fee-earners spend at their desk? Is the much hallowed four-day week possible in the legal profession?

According to Marcin Durlak, CEO of IMD Solicitors, which specialises in family law, personal injury, and medical negligence, the answer is yes. He recently told the Solicitors Journal that the firm began its four-day workweek with the family department. The results were significant:

“The trial aimed to allow employees more rest without cutting their pay or reducing financial goals. Over the first ten months, the team worked 80% of their previous hours yet saw a 22 per cent increase in fee income. Encouraged by these results, the firm expanded the four-day workweek to other departments, ensuring that client service was uninterrupted.”

IMD Solicitors’ positive results were not a one-off blip. On the other side of the world, New Zealand company, Perpetual Guardian, which specialises in Wills and Estates, tested a four-day workweek and found that productivity increased by 20 per cent. The company decided to implement the four-day week permanently, with the firm’s founder Andrew Barnes commenting:

“This is a bit of a crusade for me now. I think it’s important to change how we work but I also want to identify all the social benefits that come with changing our thought processes about our work patterns.”

Long hours do not equal more productivity

Research confirms what most of us instinctively know: burning the midnight oil in front of your computer does not necessarily equate to better results. The Global Banking and Finance Review recently reported that British workplaces rank among the worst in Europe for long hours, tight deadlines, and limited autonomy without being any more productive. On the flip side, businesses that have adopted a four-day working week repeatedly report greater productivity, less stressed employees, fewer sick days, and a happier workplace.

Another big advantage of the four-day workweek is it will attract and retain talent, something most law firms are incredibly keen on given the shortage of skills in the sector.

Tips for implementing a four-day workweek

It takes extensive planning to get to a point where you can offer a four-day workweek and continue to meet your clients’ expectations and demands. This is not something you can implement on a whim.

Change your mindset

It takes a significant shift in thinking to buy into the four-day workweek. Most of us are primed to focus on simple, objective quantifiers of success, such as the number of hours worked, rather than productivity and value. It would help if you persuaded your leadership team to measure achievements and KPIs by projects completed, total revenue, and client satisfaction.

Stagger working hours/days so client work is covered

To ensure clients continue to receive responsive service, especially in areas like conveyancing where strict procedures need to take place on exchange and completion. Work schedules and expectations may need to be re-configured to ensure that workloads are manageable within the four-day framework.

It may be that flexibility around hours and task completion is required to make a four-day workweek succeed as well as investing in training and technology to enhance efficiency.

Give it time

Making a considerable change, such as offering a four-day week, requires an investment of time and patience. It is crucial to get everyone, especially the leadership team, to understand that there may be some initial uncertainty and despite best-laid plans, hiccups at the beginning are an inevitable part of the process.

Concluding comments

With Generation Z placing unprecedented emphasis on work-life balance and positive mental health, employers who want to attract the most talented and driven of the next generation will need to examine traditional expectations around working hours and accept that they may need to change. The four-day workweek is not the only option, solutions such as condensing hours, hybrid working, and bespoke flexible working can also be used to entice high-performing employees.

Albion Legal provides a range of added-value products and services, from bespoke employment disputes insurance cover to white-labelled HR software. To discuss any points in the above article or to find out how we can help your business, please phone 0113 2471 717 or email our team.