Professional Services Accounting ARTICLE -

Telecommuting and Flexible Work Options Are Critical To Retaining Legal Talent

Target Audience: Legal Professionals, Professional Service Firms, Law Firm Partners, Law Firm Accounting

In Working Mom magazine’s 2009 list of the 50 best law firms for women, 62% offered lawyers the option of full-time telecommuting. The ability to work from home has become an increasingly desirable benefit — not only for women or parents of young children, but for all employees seeking a better work/life balance. Because you spend considerable time, money and energy recruiting the right people, it’s important to also give them incentives to stay. One way is to offer telecommuting and other flexible work options.

The cure for long hours

The legal profession is notorious for its long hours, high expectations and mental stress. A recent study conducted by The Association for Legal Career Professionals found that more than 70% of surveyed lawyers experienced significant problems balancing their jobs with personal and family needs.

Offering telecommuting options can help your firm retain valuable associates, nonequity partners and even, in some cases, equity partners, who might otherwise leave the profession or take their skills elsewhere. The weak economy has recently kept many attorneys in jobs they don’t like. But as the labor market improves, these professionals can be expected to look for positions that better meet their needs — including time to care for children and elderly parents, pursue hobbies, volunteer, exercise and generally enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Benefits of home

Telecommuting offers benefits for both employees and employers. Freed up from what, for many Americans, is a multihour round-trip commute every day, attorneys have more time to devote to client work. And in many cases, they’re more productive without the noise and distractions of a busy office. Because technology makes offsite communication and document sharing both simple and inexpensive, there are few practical disadvantages.

Telecommuting employees also can reduce your firm’s overhead expenses — you’ll need less office space and use fewer resources. What’s good for your firm is also good for the environment: Fewer commuters on the road means less pollution.

But telecommuting may not work for every firm — for example, those that hold frequent face-to-face meetings. And some firms worry that telecommuting attorneys won’t work as hard as those in the office. Although many studies refute that assumption, you could consider offering the option only to those who have been with your firm for several years and have a record of billing a certain number of hours.

Menu of flexible options

Full- or part-time telecommuting isn’t the only flexible work option to consider. Depending on your firm’s culture and client work, you might offer:

• Compressed work schedules, where employees work longer days, but fewer days per week,
• Flexible schedules, where employees choose how to distribute their work hours over the course of a day or week,
• Extended maternal and paternal leave time,
• Unpaid temporary leave,
• Sabbaticals to pursue additional education or research relevant to your firm’s work,
• Lower billable hour requirements for a correspondingly reduced salary, and
• Partial or phased retirement.

This last option is particularly important if you’re concerned about a “brain drain” as baby boomers retire in large numbers. Unlike previous generations, today’s retirement-age workers often want or need part-time employment. And your firm is likely to benefit from the experience and wisdom of these attorneys.

Act now

Don’t wait for the labor market to heat up before developing attorney retention strategies. Show your firm’s lawyers that you understand their need for a better work/life balance, and you’re likely to gain their loyalty over the long term.

Find out how our expertise in professional services accounting can add value to your business. Email us or call us at 1 (888) 875-9770.

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