(Photo credit should read MEHDI FEDOUACH/AFP/Getty Images)
Law firms have a long history of cutting employees a break around the holidays so that they can make the most of their time off. Many of the law firms at which I worked before starting my own practice closed offices early before a holiday weekend so that workers could head home or out of town early to better enjoy their time off.
In addition, if a holiday falls on a weekend, many law firms allow workers to take the following Monday off, so they get to observe a day off regardless of when the holiday occurred. In this same spirit, law firms should give workers Monday, July 3, off so that employees can merge the holiday on Tuesday with the preceding weekend. From my discussions with various lawyers, it seems as if many law firms are not planning on giving workers the day off on Monday, July 3. Employers should reconsider this practice so employees can better enjoy their holiday.
Why Law Firms Are Moving Beyond The Billable Hour
Explore 5 expert-backed reasons law firms are rethinking the billable hour and how legal billing software is leading the way.
There are a variety of reasons for why employers should feel comfortable about extending the holiday by giving workers the day off on Monday, July 3. Perhaps most importantly, we all know that setting established periods that workers need to be at their desks working is often not needed in the legal profession. The legal industry is governed by a number of metrics that are easy to measure, most notably, the number of billable hours that each attorney and certain administrative staff are able to log in a given year.
So long as workers are able to satisfy expectations around billable hours, employers should not care if workers are at their desks on a given day. In fact, giving employees the flexibility to choose when they wish to bill hours might make them more efficient at billing hours than if an employer has a set policy around when employees should be working. Most law firms understand that workers can be trusted if there is flexibility around schedules, and as a result, law firms should not be too concerned if workers are allowed to take the day off on Monday, July 3.
Some employers want employees to be at their desks in case clients ask questions during established work periods or there are circumstances that need the immediate attention of counsel. However, there is unlikely to be much activity on Monday, July 3. Many in-house professionals, court officers, and others will likely be off so that they can make a four-day weekend. Moreover, work generally slows down over the summer even when people are not celebrating holidays as people naturally take vacation more often when kids are out of school and when the weather is nicer.
Sure, some employees will have tight deadlines that might require them to work on Monday, July 3, in order to better serve clients. However, I am willing to bet that Monday, July 3, is going to be a quiet day for the vast majority of legal professionals. Accordingly, managers should not use the fact that they need people to be available to serve clients or deal with exigent events to keep people at work on Monday, July 3.
The Law Firm’s Guide To Trust Accounting And Three-Way Reconciliation
Proper trust accounting and three-way reconciliation are essential for protecting client funds and avoiding serious compliance risks. In this guide, we break down these critical processes and show how legal-specific software can help your firm stay accurate, efficient, and audit-ready.
Giving employees the day off will also be a huge morale boost for many attorneys and staff. There has been a lot of bellyaching at many law firms over the cancellation of work-from-home policies and rules requiring employees to work from an office at least a few days a week. Many attorneys and staff think that such policies are not needed since employees should have the flexibility to decide how to be more productive when meeting expectations at a law firm. Many people think that such policies, and other recent decisions at law firms, show that managers are detached from their workers.
However, attorneys and staff will really appreciate the day off on Monday, July 3, so that they can make the most of the Fourth of July holiday. This will show workers that managers at law firms do care about their workers and are willing to cut attorneys and staff some slack. As I can attest to from firsthand experience, such gestures go a long way toward convincing employees that managers care about them, and this can improve morale around an office.
All told, although managers may want to keep employees at work on Monday, July 3, they should give workers the day off. This will help everyone make better use out of the holiday and can improve morale around an office.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at [email protected].