Legal in Lockdown

90% of all lawyers worked from home during the recent lockdowns. In house lawyers and HR functions were the most likely to have worked remotely and those employed in Criminal Law, Property and General Practice the least likely to have incorporated some element of home working into their day to day.

We have asked 3,100 people questions on how lockdown has affected their working efforts and here is a summary of the responses.

What kind of impact do you think homeworking has or would have on your career progression?

58% of female lawyers were overwhelmingly positive compared to 50% of males. Partners were in general less positive than their team members. 82% of female Partners however believed homeworking had a positive or neutral effect on productivity compared to 75% of male Partners. Lawyers employed in smaller firms were most likely to believe homeworking had a negative impact on their productivity. 61% of In-house lawyers felt homeworking boosted their output. Just 6% of Costs Lawyers believed their productivity was negatively impacted. 100% of respondents working in HR functions believed they were more productive working from home.

What kind of impact do you think homeworking has or would have on your productivity?

58% of female lawyers were overwhelmingly positive compared to 50% of males. Partners were in general less positive than their team members. 82% of female Partners however believed homeworking had a positive or neutral effect on productivity compared to 75% of male Partners. Lawyers employed in smaller firms were most likely to believe homeworking had a negative impact on their productivity. 61% of In-house lawyers felt homeworking boosted their output. Just 6% of Costs Lawyers believed their productivity was negatively impacted. 100% of respondents working in HR functions believed they were more productive working from home.

What kind of impact do you think homeworking has or would have on the levels of service your firm has delivered?

90% of legal professionals believed homeworking had a positive or neutral effect on the service levels their firm has delivered. For 37% there was an uplift and for 53% there was no impact at all. 40% of female lawyers were overwhelmingly positive compared to 33% of males. 1 in 5 Partners felt as though homeworking had a negative effect on service levels compared to 1 in 10 Associates and Juniors. There was consistency across employer profiles though high street lawyers were most likely to be concerned about service levels and Boutique Commercial and Sole Practitioners adapting best to working conditions. It was a similar story with Practice areas; overwhelmingly more positive than negative though some blips in General Practice, Private Client and Asset Finance as opposed to Employment Law and Law Costs for example who believed the impact was positive more than most.

What kind of impact do you think homeworking has or would have on your mental health?

For the majority, homeworking had a positive or at worst, neutral effect on their mental health and there was a marginal difference across genders. A third of Junior Lawyers believed homeworking during Lockdown had a negative effect on their mental health. On the other hand, 75% of Senior Lawyers felt remote working had a positive or neutral effect on their mental health. Lawyers working in Crime, Fraud and Licensing and In House Public Sector and Charity were among those who benefitted most. For respondents working in HR functions there was zero negative impact. Conversely Solicitors, Lawyers and Support staff working in Corporate and Finance found Lockdown working most challenging from a mental health perspective.

For more information download a copy of our 2021 Salary and Benefits Benchmarker.