Bringing Change By Making Change: Changing The Culture Of Overwork In The Practice Of Law

Lawyers, paralegals, and executive assistants are not machines. They are more than the hours that they work.

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Lisa Lang to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

When I started my legal career in 2004 as a new associate for a midsize law firm, I had no illusions about the world I was entering. I knew that the law firm I had just joined expected its associates to put in enough time at the office each day to bill at least 1,800 to 2,000 hours by the end of the year. In order to satisfy that annual billable hour requirement, I knew that associates needed to be present in the office if they hoped to receive enough work assignments from senior associates and firm partners. I also knew that the law firm expected its associates to engage in unbillable activities over the course of the year that included business development and marketing. With those expectations in mind, I worked hard every day to meet those expectations. For me, meeting those expectations often meant missing family events, taking calls after normal work hours, and frequently missing dinner at night with my family. I found myself working in a culture of overwork.

While I knew I chose life as an associate, I also knew I did not have the wherewithal to sustain that life long term. I left the law firm in 2008 with the hope that I could find a job as a lawyer that would allow for a different life. As my career progressed, I did find jobs that allowed for a different life, but, oddly enough, my life really did not change. Why? The problem was no longer my employer. I was now the problem. I had begun to associate my worth and value by that amount of work that I did. I no longer had any boundaries. I was always “on.”

In March 2020, all that changed because of a global pandemic. I was now a general counsel, responsible for leading a small legal team at a regional public university. Pre-pandemic, we left our personal lives at home. We worked longs hours in an office on campus. We worked at our desks. We ate at our desks. We left the office and took calls all hours of day and night. We even worked over the weekend.

Over the course of the pandemic, we experienced a shift. We stopped focusing on the hours worked and we started focusing on just getting the work done. While it was not always easy, we made a successful transition.  Remote offices and flexible schedules with an increased focus on mental, emotional, and physical health became our new normal. We gave and received grace each day as we moved from a work/life balance model to a work/life integration model.

Lawyers, paralegals, and executive assistants are not machines. They are more than the hours that they work. As leaders, we really need to work to change the way we practice law. The culture of overwork continues because the businesses for which we work get more from us for less and because businesses promote those lawyers who overwork to positions of  leadership.

Overwork is not healthy. It kills our focus. We all need space to rest, relax, and recharge. When we fail to do those things, we lose the ability to think critically and find solutions, and we lose the ability to be patient and empathetic.

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As we move past pandemic, we cannot return to our past ways.  As leaders, we need to consider permanently changing our policies. We need to model boundary setting, and we need to show that we value people who take time to enjoy life outside of work. We need to recognize the importance of being able to plan, prioritize, and successfully achieve positive outcomes. We need to care about the team’s collective well-being. Overwork only exists because we allow it to exist. We all need to be part of the solution and not the problem.  We have a unique opportunity to bring a permanent change to the practice of law.  Let us not waste it.


Lisa Lang is an in-house lawyer and thought leader who is passionate about all things in-house.  She has recently launched a website and blog Why This, Not That™ to serve as a resource for in-house lawyers.  You can e-mail her at lisa@lawyerlisalang.com, connect with her on LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter.

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