Biglaw, Perks / Fringe Benefits

Biglaw Associates Offered Work/Life Balance Perks That Go Unused

Are lawyers afraid that they'll be penalized in the future if they take advantage of these reduced-hours policies?

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Work from HomeMore and more Biglaw firms are offering associates unique perks geared toward improving their work/life balance, like the ability to work remotely, work for reduced hours, work on flexible time schedules, and more. But how many associates are actually taking advantage of the progressive offerings their firms have laid out on the table? According to the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, the answer, quite shockingly, is “not many.”

In its Law Firm Flexibility Benchmarking Survey, 28 Biglaw firms were asked about the availability and usage of their flexible work policies. The Alliance found that while just about all of them (26) had formal flex-time policies offering reduced hours, flexible start-and-end schedules, and telecommuting options, just 8.8 percent of lawyers at those firms were working on reduced schedules. Here are some highlights from the survey:

– Lawyers of color and LGBT lawyers remain underrepresented among reduced hours lawyers. While the share of lawyers of color and LGBT lawyers who work flexibly increased slightly from last year, both groups are still underrepresented among reduced hours lawyers (13 percent of reduced hours lawyers are attorneys of color and 1.1 percent are LGBT).

– Gender-Neutral Leave policies are becoming more common, however most firms still have a primary and secondary caregiver designation. Eighty-seven percent of the participating firms that have a gender-neutral leave policy include a primary and secondary caregiver designation and tier the amount of leave accordingly. The Alliance recommends that organizations remove the primary and secondary caregiver designation because it represents an antiquated view of family caregiving roles.

– While there has been an increase in firms with flex attorneys in leadership positions, flex schedules are more common among non-partnership track attorneys. Forty-three percent of participating firms have reduced hours attorneys in leadership roles including Chairs, Managing Partners, Department Chairs, and Office Heads. Yet, while 31.3 percent of Of Counsel attorneys have flex schedules, only 1.2 percent of Equity Partners have such schedules on a formal basis.

– Women constitute the largest share of reduced hours lawyers, yet continue to be underrepresented overall. Thirty-six percent of all attorneys are women, while sixty-eight percent of reduced hours attorneys are women.

This makes us wonder why associates aren’t using the perks that have been made available to them. Are they afraid that they’ll be penalized in the future — either vis-à-vis their paychecks or partnership prospects — if they take advantage of these reduced-hours policies? Big Law Business reports on the firms that are treating lawyers fairly by giving them promotions and leadership opportunities, despite their flex-time arrangements:

Fourteen of the participating firms promoted at least one lawyer working a reduced schedule to partner in 2015, which is double than the previous year. Reduced hours lawyers are also represented among firm leadership in 12 of the 28 firms, including three chairs or managing partners, 11 department chairs or practice group leaders, and four office heads, the alliance found.

We’re curious as to why associates who crave better work/life balance aren’t opting in to take the fullest advantage of their firms’ flex-time programs. Is the fear of retribution really that bad? Email us and let us know why you aren’t using your firm’s flex-time policies. We may have more on this in the future if we receive enough responses.

Press Release: Survey Finds Positive Trends in Law Firm Flexibility, However Bias Continues to Impede Usage [Diversity & Flexibility Alliance]
Law Firms Promote Flexible Work Arrangements Lawyers Don’t Use [Big Law Business]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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