2022 has officially bitten the dust, and there will be plenty working in the legal sector who will consider this to be a cause for celebration. After all, the last few years have been undeniably tough for the industry, particularly when it comes to hiring. While the pandemic caused the demand for legal services to soar, a mass exodus of talent from the sector resulted in widespread shortages of permanent staff, placing incredible pressure on workloads. Although the situation with COVID-19 is now considerably healthier than it was a year or two ago, traditional law firms continue to face an existential crisis. Many lawyers are deciding to move away from the traditional firms they were working for and towards those operating a legal consultancy model. This is corroborated by research by Arden Partners, showing that the number of consultant lawyers in the UK is rising at a compound annual growth rate [CAGR] of 21%, while mid-market law firms are growing by only 7%. As such, it is evident that traditional firms are losing out to their consultancy counterparts in the race to recruit. WFH Has Been a Hit With Workers So, what are legal consultancies offering that traditional firms are not? Well, since the vast majority of lawyers were forced to swap their usual desk for their dining room table or breakfast bar during the pandemic, working from home has become commonplace within the legal sector, rather than a perk reserved only for the most senior partnership positions. Despite being bombarded with case work, many lawyers enjoyed the greater work/life balance that working from home afforded them, no longer wasting precious time sitting in traffic while travelling to and from the office, nor having to spend money on the petrol. Whenever they clocked off for the day, workers were already home, ready to make a start on the cooking, cleaning, getting the kids ready for bed, or simply unwinding. While many traditional firms have reverted back to their pre-pandemic work schedule – namely, to work from the office five days a week – a large number of SPECIAL FEATURE 37 Special Feature The legal landscape has firmly bounced back from pandemicera restrictions, yet many remain uncertain how far traditional firms should return to their pre-pandemic practices. Alex Dick, Managing Director at Alexander Lyons Solutions, suggests below that greater flexibility among firms will create a more attractive environment for top talent to work at their best. How Can Traditional Law Firms Stop a Talent Exodus?
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