Understand Your Rights. Solve Your Legal Problems
Jessica Heagren, CEO at That Works For Me, shares her thoughts with Lawyer Monthly on how a commitment to flexible working could empower law firms and their staff.
A common theme from our discussions with law firms is that flexible working is a phase, and one that will pass, as it doesn’t work within the legal industry. But, in my experience, this isn’t true. It’s a positive development and one that deserves the same level of commitment as any other change.
The demand for flexible working is growing, particularly after the year we have just had. It is the future, not least because it benefits firms in so many different valuable ways. The legal sector has so much to gain from offering employees flexible working opportunities: improved diversity, improved culture and in turn, improved performance.
Here’s how:
Not only does flexible working provide flexibility for the employee, but it also provides flexibility for the employer.
A common misconception is that flexible working means no one is in the same place at the same time or that client expectations cannot be met. But at That Works For Me, we have seen every industry make flexible working work from engineering through to accountancy. A more flexible workforce enables a more flexible response to customers. Skills can be imported when they are needed driving cost efficiency and away from the commitment of a full-time salary.
Not only does flexible working provide flexibility for the employee, but it also provides flexibility for the employer.
Flexible working opens the legal sector up to such a wider range of people. This is critical not only for perception but for access to new clients. There is a long-standing issue in the legal sector with the loss of women after they have children. This has led to a significant gender diversity issue, particularly at partner level.
Flexible working makes continuing in law a viable career for them. Parents aren’t expected to choose a life revolving around work or home but can instead have one that encompasses both. We’ve seen it work successfully in banking and finance, so why not law?
As well as more women staying in the legal sector, law firms then don’t have to choose the candidate with the most time over the most skilled candidate to fulfil a role. Offering flexible working options such as remote working or flexible hours widens your recruitment pool massively (such as no location restrictions or restrictions on times available to work). This allows you access to the best possible talent out there and will almost certainly improve diversity over time.
Flexible working leads to more satisfied and productive employees. A study carried out by Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom found that in surveying 16,000 workers at a Chinese firm over ten months, those allowed to work flexibly from home increased their productivity by 13%. This has been proven time and time again by businesses across the world.
There are countless other more tangible benefits. Employees are likely to take less sick leave as they are able to have a more equal work-life balance. Their ability to pursue other interests and hobbies outside of work does wonders for team morale and engagement. People are happier, and happier employees means more loyal employees. Flexible working reduces employee turnover massively, allowing you to keep hold of valuable people in whom you have invested.
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Increased diversity is also a positive attribute to company culture and allows a wider range of opinions, perspectives and experiences to be drawn upon when it comes to problem solving and innovation.
Customers are also more likely to choose companies to work with where they can see themselves in the employees. Diversity therefore directly contributes to new business acquisition.
Demand for increased flexibility by employees is growing exponentially and the talent race already seen in many other industries will shortly be seen in law. 40% of lawyers consider flexible working to be the biggest benefit when choosing a new employer and therefore it’s vital that law firms are representative of the desires and needs of its employees.
Times have moved beyond consideration of flexible working requests as fulfilling a legal obligation. The conversation has moved towards a default position of flexible working options meaning employers need to robustly justify why a flexible working request is refused.
The employers that are winning in today’s market are those who genuinely prioritise employee wellbeing and invest in retention techniques – often by offering flexible working. It’s time to decide which camp you’re in. As an employer, you have a responsibility to your employees to provide them with flexible working opportunities, and with the list of benefits for both employer and employee ever growing, why would you choose not to?
Facebook has announced that it will restore news content to its users in Australia after a standoff with the country’s government last week.
“Facebook has re-friended Australia,” Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday, saying that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had informed him the ban would be lifted “in the coming days.”
Last Thursday, Facebook blocked Australian news sites from posting on the platform, while Australian users were prevented from viewing or sharing content from news outlets of any nationality. The ban also swept up pages run by charitable organisations and government health agencies, disrupting public communications just one week ahead of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Facebook said it had been forced to block news in response to legislation currently being debated in the Senate after passing the lower house last week. The proposed law is designed to create a “fairer” negotiation process between tech giants and news companies and is being closely watched internationally as a test case for broader regulation of technology and social media platforms.
The standoff comes amid growing global scrutiny of media power and accountability, a debate also reflected in Prince Harry’s press lawsuits, including his case against Daily Mail, which is scheduled to go to trial starting January 19, 2026.
Facebook now says it has negotiated changes to the proposed media code.
“Going forward, the government has clarified we will retain the ability to decide if news appears on Facebook so that we won’t automatically
Lawyer Monthly hears more from Alex Smith, Global Product Management Lead for iManage RAVN, on how lawyers can use technology to thrive in their careers.
To build a successful legal career, all you need to do is study law and then apply it, right?
In previous decades, that might’ve been true. But with rapidly growing adoption of digitised processes, it’s essential for legal professionals to embrace technology.
As a lawyer, your ability to understand the way various technological systems work, what data they hold, and what techniques to use to discover important information, patterns, and connections in that data provides an important differentiator.
Put another way: whilst you may have a specific area of expertise in law, the real value of your expertise will lie in your capability to tailor and leverage the information to your clients’ unique situation. Those professionals and those firms that are best able to leverage technology to take a data-driven approach will secure a powerful competitive advantage.
It’s helpful here to provide some examples of how exactly this embrace of technology and data might prove useful in the course of one’s legal career.
Imagine a massive repapering project undertaken for a financial services client in advance of the LIBOR transition that requires reviewing thousands of contracts to see which ones need to be updated. Examining those contracts manually would require a small army of humans and would result in an extravagant bill for the client.
Whilst you may have a specific area of expertise in law, the real value of your expertise will lie in your capability to tailor and leverage the information to your clients’ unique situation.
Technologies like AI can provide an assist here, quickly reviewing huge volumes of digitised documents, and extracting key clauses and relevant data points. This helps these institutions to better assess where the potential liabilities around LIBOR exist, and which documents need to be updated to mitigate risk.
Having gone through this LIBOR exercise, however, financial services institutions will now have a pool of structured data at their disposal, because they’ve already identified and extracted key pieces of information from their documents.
The tech-savvy lawyer will realise that this very same data can be used as a foundation for the next time that the institution has to go through a repapering exercise in response to new evolutions in the regulatory environment or some seismic event with an industry-wide impact, like Brexit. There will be no need to start from scratch or to reinvent the wheel when tackling these events – they will already have data to build upon and leverage, enabling them to nimbly adjust to changes as they arise.
The tech- and data-friendly lawyer can even look at data and spot trends, allowing clients to make proactive moves. Let’s take the case of a firm that specialises in leases and property portfolio work and is under mounting cost pressure. The natural next step is to find a way to do leases more efficiently.
This might involve some process mapping and automation that can wring out some of the inefficiencies; for example, they might encourage basing a lease off of a knowledge asset that is a best practice document for how to do a lease.
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Being more efficient about that process, however, presents an opportunity to be more analytical and provide greater value to the client. Using AI, the firm can really take a close look at the data and identify opportunities within the property portfolio. For example, if the client holds leases in a large high-rise building and 80 of those leases are up for renewal in the next three months, the firm can take a proactive role in either continuing or discontinuing those leases, based on what sort of trends or insights the data is showing.
If there’s a lesson from the above examples, it’s that firms are awash with data. Finding innovative and practical ways to handle increasing volumes of unstructured data is a necessity – and the more structured the data is, and the more standardised the data collection mechanisms are that have been put in place, the better. For firms, this is the path towards optimal results.
And what about our individual lawyer – how best for them to proceed?
In a world where data-driven decision making is becoming the norm, a ‘data curiosity-led’ disposition will give them broad capabilities that sit outside of the traditional sphere of law. Combined with their traditional legal expertise, these will grant them the distinction of being a ‘data-enabled lawyer’ while simultaneously earning a position as a ‘Trusted Business Advisor’. With data in hand, they will be able to creatively design new ways to solve clients’ problems, proactively stay ahead of the curve, and – in the process – genuinely affect positive business outcomes.
The US Department of Labor’s worker safety agency will now be responsible for investigating individual complaints of retaliation for whistleblowers reporting suspected criminal antitrust violations or violations related to money laundering.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will oversee allegations of retaliation against employees under the provisions enforced in is Whistleblower Protection Program, the DOL announced on Friday.
"Until OSHA issues interim final rules, the agency will process whistleblower complaints related to these statutes using procedures under the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century," the agency said.
OSHA’s Whistleblower Protection Program already enforces the provisions of 20 different whistleblower statutes related to shielding employees from retaliation for reporting violations of various commercial practices.
This new move from the DOL follows the passing of the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act in December, which heightens protections for whistleblowers reporting antitrust violations and offers safeguards to those who provide relevant information on violations of sections 1 or 3 of the Sherman Act.
Under the act, if an employer faces retaliation for whistleblowing, they can file a grievance with the DOL – which, if successful, will force the employer to reinstate the employee with full back pay, interest and special damages compensation.
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New tools specifically designed for tackling money laundering were introduced by Congress in the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, giving prosecutors greater scope for detecting and stopping the movement of dirty money.
Legal sector insiders expect the DOL to shift its focus towards money laundering and antitrust violations once the nomination of attorney general Merrick Garland is confirmed.
Being arrested is an incredibly stressful event that can end in your emotions getting the best of you. Experiencing stressful situations can lead to irrational thinking like telling white lies to avoid confrontation or resisting arrest. While it’s understandable to feel scared and stressed during an arrest, it’s critical that you stay calm and collected to avoid further complications. If you’re unable to remain composed during an arrest, opt for the silent method to sidestep incriminating yourself further.
If you end up facing charges, you’ll need to understand the impact a criminal record will have on your day-to-day life. When convicted of a crime, charges—even minor ones—stay with you. Having a criminal record can restrict you from obtaining a job, living in certain places, and finishing your schooling. To avoid further complications, consider attorney services for expert legal advice and potential record erasures.
Often, guilty subjects fail to hire criminal defence attorneys because they think they can talk their way out of criminal violations. However, refusing representation when guilty is a critical mistake, as experienced criminal defence attorneys help reduce charges and, in some cases, dismiss them altogether.
Make sure to hire a lawyer quickly if your crime penalty involves jail time. The prosecution will be more willing to work with you early on, which means your attorney may be able to get you better case results. In addition, hiring an attorney sooner rather than later gives them time to prepare your case and uncover evidence that can exonerate you.
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If you simply witnessed a crime take place, you’re probably safe to talk with the police. However, if you’re being investigated as a suspect, refuse to speak until you’ve hired a lawyer. Law enforcement can use any personal statements against you in court, which means you should keep discrepancies or other incriminating content to a minimum. By hiring a legal confidant, you’ll have access to guidance to ensure the process works in your favor.
Unless you are a crime scene witness, do not sign anything the police give you without a lawyer present. Signing documentation could further incriminate you, as law enforcement can use it as a confession or incriminating evidence.
Countless individuals in jail are serving time for a crime they did not commit. If you’re innocent, hire an experienced criminal defence attorney to assist you with your case. Often, innocent people accused of illegal activity struggle to free themselves from legal trouble without help from an expert lawyer. When you hire an attorney, they can argue your innocence and ensure exoneration for crimes you didn’t commit.
Finding yourself in the back of a cop car bogged down in handcuffs is a universally unpleasant experience. However, you can free yourself from unwanted bonds and fees by hiring expert attorneys to help you through the legal process.
If you want to make a difficult time a little easier to cope with, you should considering using a bail bond service. When you do, you can get the following benefits:
If you want to get out of jail quickly, you must look for reputable bail bond companies. Don't hire someone who just offers services without any kind of certification—instead, look for a service that's been licensed by your state. This is important because it means they know how to operate in your state—they know which documents to file, how to fill them out, and the procedures of appropriately filing them.
If they're experienced, they also know who to talk to about your bond. If they have a proven track record, they usually receive leeway when it comes to approval. They'll handle all your paperwork, and you only have to wait for your release papers. A bail bond service can even do this at a much faster pace than you would be able to if you personally handled the bail.
When you're charged with a crime, a bail amount is set by a judge. The amount depends on the nature of your crime and whether you're a flight risk. Bail generally tends to range from $500–$20,000.
If you can't pay your bail, you have to stay in jail until the end of your trial. But with a bail bond agent or the service of bail bond agents, you can get out of jail quickly. It's because they'll pay for your bail in exchange for their guarantee that you appear on your trial dates.
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Of course, you have to pay them, too. However, you won't have to pay them the full amount of the bail. Instead, you'll only pay at least 10% of the full bail and other service charges. Thus, you can save up to 90% of your bail and use it for your court trials instead.
If you choose to pay your bail on your own, you have to pay the full amount. This means liquidating your assets if you don't have enough cash or savings. You can prevent this by hiring bail bond agents.
Not only are you only paying 10% of your bail but, when you hire the services of a bail bond company, you get to choose your payment plan. If you don't have the cash to pay everything off immediately, you can negotiate on your bail bonds with the bail bond company. That way, you can budget your monthly expenses appropriately without going broke. You can pay these services using checks, debit, or credit. Some even offer a secure online payment portal.
Being arrested is stressful, especially if it’s your first time. What’s even more distressing is having to pay a large bail in full. Instead of getting a loan or liquidating your other assets, you can hire a bail bond service to help you pay for your bail. In exchange, you only pay 10% of the full amount of bail. With this, you can get out of jail and pay the charge in installments. This is beneficial because you get to pay only a fraction of your bail while you can get out freely.
Below, Lawyer Monthly hears from Chris Bishop, managing partner of Slater Heelis, on how a political conscience is something firms should encourage rather than fear.
“Avoid ‘virtue signalling’ – retweets, likes or joining online campaigns to indicate a personal view.”
“Do not support campaigns no matter how apparently worthy the cause or how much their message appears to be accepted or uncontroversial.”
So reads the BBC’s much-discussed social media guidelines, issued to its staff back in October. The initiative of newly appointed Director General Tim Davie, the rules are intended to safeguard public trust and maintain a standard of “BBC impartiality”. Disciplinary action, including potential termination of contract, faces those in breach.
We’re all aware, I’m sure, of the age-old separation of political and professional spheres, but since when did canvassing for change become grounds for dismissal? To me the opposite rings true: a social conscience is a compelling reason for employment.
A debate over whether the BBC’s social media policy exceeds mere “professional discipline” is beyond the scope of this article, but it does raise some important and prickly questions: what constitutes the “controversial” and who decides this? Can anything ever truly be impartial? And perhaps more importantly, should it be? Many people, myself included, would argue that being apolitical is in fact a political choice.
The prevailing belief in the legal sector has long been that to kickstart your career you must squash political passion and bow your head. Many risk-averse practitioners would sooner champion the “uncontroversial” before vocalising their opinion because it’s easier that way. More often than not, complacency trumps campaigning in the legal world, and this must change.
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We need “disruptors”, those willing to challenge status quo – people who are willing to actively participate in peaceful protest to further social justice campaigns such as Climate Change and BLM, even though the establishment might try to label such actions unlawful and threaten arrest. An individual with a questioning mindset will provoke reflection across a firm, pressing people to hold themselves to account.
Everything comes full circle too. This kind of energised, provocative thinking won’t only influence a firm’s ethos and culture, but encourage it to critically interrogate almost everything about itself – including its professional practices and processes. It’s not all high-level, abstract change; there are immediate practical applications.
We’re seeing this ourselves at Slater Heelis. Young, more sustainably- and digitally-minded employees are bringing about crucial operational reform – from minimising paper use to improve our environmental impact, to modernising processes from a digital perspective to make the business work more efficiently. As scenes get busier and workloads intensify, this is increasingly important.
Investing in young talent is also an education for older generations of lawyers. If a new starter has the confidence to challenge a senior lawyer on a contentious matter, they should be able to provide an answer; if they can’t, it’s probably a good indication that things need to change.
There are few careers in which being argumentative is considered a good thing, but as I see it, in law it’s practically a non-negotiable. Being able to make a case, defend a point of view, and demonstrate a thought process are indispensable qualities to have in this sector. That’s why if you’re 18-25 years old and your qualifications don’t immediately apply to law, it’s no reason to write off a law career. We’re looking for individuals with potential, who can develop these kinds of communication and critical thinking skills – and I think being politically alert and socially engaged plays a part in that.
More often than not, complacency trumps campaigning in the legal world, and this must change.
It’s about time, in both the legal world and more broadly, that we embrace political passion and provocative thought as assets, not threats to a kind of illusory impartiality. To me, it is those young lawyers who are inquisitive, alert and active around the issues that matter who will animate and revolutionise an otherwise slow-moving legal sector.
There’s nothing wrong with being an “activist” or “loud-mouthed” lawyer, as one Government source recently put it – in fact, I’d rather encourage it.
The UK Supreme Court on Friday dismissed ride-hailing giant Uber’s appeal against an earlier ruling that deemed its drivers to be workers rather than self-employed.
The decision means that tens of thousands of Uber drivers in the UK will be entitled to a minimum wage and holiday pay among other bonuses, ending a long-running legal battle.
Friday’s ruling marks Uber’s last appeal in the case. After first appealing against an initial employment tribunal ruling in favour of former Uber drivers James Farrar and Yaseem Aslam in October 2016, the company then took the case to the High Court after the ruling was upheld.
“It’s the end of the road for Uber’s mistreatment of drivers,” wrote trade union GMB in a tweet. “Time for Uber to accept its responsibilities, compensate drivers and discuss a way forward.”
In addition to potentially leaving Uber with a significant compensation bill, the ruling could have wider implications for the gig economy in the UK.
Co-lead claimant James Farrar, general secretary of the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) hailed the decision as a “win-win” for drivers, customers and cities.
“It means Uber now has the correct economic incentives not to oversupply the market with too many vehicles and too many drivers," he said. "The upshot of that oversupply has been poverty, pollution and congestion."
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While it is yet unclear exactly what the wider impact of the case will be on employment in the gig economy, a crucial piece of the ruling specified that Uber must consider its drivers to be “workers” from the time they log on to the company’s app until they log off again. Ube drivers typically log onto the app and wait for people to book rides.
The company previously stated that, if the Court found its drivers to be workers, it would only consider them as such for the time during journeys when a passenger was present in their car.
The UK court’s decision follows only months after California residents approved the Proposition 22 ballot measure, which grants ride-hailing apps exemption to the state’s labour laws distinguishing full employees from independent contractors.
Also referred to as RTAs, road traffic accidents are exactly as the term implies. If you have been involved in a road accident as a result of another person's negligence, you are eligible for filing a claim for car damage on the responsible individual or company's motor insurance policy. The cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle is covered by the responsible party's insurance, but what if you were hurt? What about this cost?
An insurance claim in this situation does not cover any injury costs, lost earnings, or the pain and trauma caused by the accident. If you sustained an injury in an RTA, a lawyer can help you make a personal injury claim. It does not matter whether you were the pedestrian, cyclist, passenger, or driver. If that happens, contact a legal professional for help.
Employers are responsible for the safety of employees at work. They are legally mandated to make the workplace and the work you do as safe as possible. Ideally, they are required to train you properly and provide the necessary personal protective equipment required for the task.
Experiencing an accident while working can be stressful and can leave you feeling anxious about your ability to work as well as your finances. This kind of worry can even interfere with recovery. It is important to keep in mind that health & safety at work legislation and employment law are on your side when it comes to accidents at work. Both protect your rights, particularly if you are scared of filing a personal injury claim against the employer.
A team of experienced personal injury lawyers can help you get the compensation you require to lead a normal life after suffering an accident at work.
Employers are responsible for the safety of employees at work.
It is a general misconception that slips, trips, and falls mean minor injuries like scrapes and cuts. However, they tend to form a substantial part of the personal injury claims that law firms deal with. Slips, trips and falls can cause severe harm such as spinal injuries, broken bones, head or brain trauma.
If you fall in public, there is no need to feel embarrassed as accidents happen all the time. The owner of the property you fell in has an obligation to ensure the premises are safe for everyone. If they have failed, then your slip and fall was due to their negligence and could have been avoided.
We know how overwhelming and sad it can be to lose a loved one or see them badly injured. In such hard times, a team of experienced personal injury lawyers can provide advice and suggest the way forward.
Any compensation you get from the party responsible can help provide the much-needed support. For instance, it can help cover ongoing medical treatment or home adaptations.
You should also contact a personal injury lawyer if you have experienced any kind of medical negligence. There are different kinds of negligence, including ophthalmological (eye) treatment, dental, or incorrect medical treatment.
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You can be eligible for a medical negligence claim if you or a loved one has experienced any of the following:
-Misdiagnosis, delay in diagnosis, or failure to diagnose that harms or worsens an existing condition.
-A mistake during a surgical procedure that injures you or worsens an existing condition.
-Medication mis-prescription or any other kind of incorrect treatment that results in harm.
Also, you can make a personal injury claim for negligence in medical treatment that left you or a loved one in pain for longer than it should be.
These are the common forms of personal injuries that you are eligible to file for if you were not responsible. As mentioned earlier, do not hesitate to reach out to a lawyer who specialises in personal injury if you feel one of the above cases applies to you.
Alistair Vigier, CEO of ClearWay Law, examines the video turned social media phenomenon and what it has to say about the struggles encountered by many lawyers today.
For those of you that haven’t seen it, I’ve included a link to the cat attorney video below. Chances are you’ve already watched it many times. The video is hilarious and cute. However, it shows a deep problem going on in society that no one talks about.
That issue is that people are struggling to get the court orders they need because of how “old school” many lawyers are. Lawyers in their 70s and 80s have been forced to adjust to many decades of technology, and it hasn’t been going smoothly.
The other issue is that people don’t seem to appreciate how stressful it is to go to court. People love making fun of attorneys, but when people get in trouble and go through a divorce or lawsuit, it’s the attorney that’s there to help them. Attorneys deserve the same respect as doctors or nurses.
In this Insider article, it notes the attorney's past history. Was that really necessary? Is everything an opportunity to throw a lawyer under the bus? Lawyers are not politicians (yet.) They are not in the public light.
Everyone has had to adjust to video meetings due to COVID-19. There are videos on the internet of people using the toilet while on video with their co-workers, and an attorney having sex during a court hearing. This last week, an attorney had to explain to a judge that they are not a cat. Without a doubt, that will go down as one of the best court transcriptions of all time.
In the video, even with the cat filter on, it’s clear how stressed out the lawyer is. You can see it in the cat’s eyes. While the video is funny, I know how stressful it is when something goes wrong in court.
Some people have started sharing memes saying, “If your attorney looks like this, you are going to jail.” That’s harsh. I think the attorney handled the situation with grace. The lawyer said, “If I can make the country chuckle for a moment in these difficult times they’re going through, I’m happy to let them do that at my expense.” That’s classy and I respect that.
In the video, the “cat lawyer” was there representing Texas. So no, no one was going to jail because their attorney looked like a cat.
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What I found ironic was that the court had a notice on the screen saying that if someone records the hearing, they could be fined or go to jail. Because the situation was funny, the judge posted the video to YouTube, I assume without the attorney permission. While the court might have the right to do this, is it appropriate?
For the first time, the public has had a peek into how poorly attorneys and many courts have dealt with COVID-19. Lawyers had to adjust to fifty years of technology in a matter of days. Everyone did their best given the situation, but the legal industry shouldn’t have been so old school in the first place. This created too steep of a learning curve.
Prior to COVID-19, lawyers struggled with scanning documents, and many did not have websites. Law school teaches how the law was created in England centuries ago, instead of teaching law students how to use technology to improve their law practices.
I’ve had my own struggles. When there was an issue with noise at my home, I had to rush to the middle of a park to do a hearing.
I suggest law schools start adjusting for the present, and maybe the courts and lawyers will follow suit. These past eleven months have been brutal, and I can’t wait to get back into court in person.
Always remember, attorney cats are still attorneys, and they deserve your respect.
