by Sajal Chowdhury

The legal professionals usually work long hours and its bit harder for them to manage work-life balance that they inherited from their colleagues, senior lawyers and culture of legal profession.

New lawyers strive for income

An article is written by Jordan Furlong stated that new lawyers understood the phrase “work-life balance”.  Numbers of new lawyers enter into the legal profession every year, the uncertainty of jobs causes stress for them. Moreover, some legal employers believe new lawyers carried debt from law school and they need to pay off their debt. If they start to think growing sense work-life balance that is a pointless issue for them at this time.  However, when they will work  long hours and work load would leave them behind and they might realize work-life balance that is meaningful in their life.

Lawyers at large law firms work long hours                                                                                                             

When lawyers work for a large law firms, they have to do assigned work within a time frame. They need to work long hours and quite difficult for them to manage work-life balance. Those who work at large law firms, they are not satisfied on their career because their earning based on billable hours and due to extended hours of work, the work-life balance is often impossible for them. However, at the same time if we look at the small size firms, the lawyers of small firms obviously work very quickly within a shorter time frame and comparatively lower rates. They could  manage their work-life balance.

Lawyers strive for balance in personal and family life

Most of the lawyers work long hours to satisfy their employers and clients. They give up their personal and family life. They spend more time and effort for long billable hours of work to get enough money for pay off debt. However, lawyers may find flexible employment to balance  between work and family life.

Personal choice of lawyers

Article writer Jordan Furlong  also stated that work-life balance is the lawyers’ personal choice.  If lawyers want to work extended hours to satisfy their employer or may choose public sector or private practice  to work only limited hours. So, it is relatively easy to manage work-life balance. On the other hand, lawyers at large law firms have a binding obligation with the employer that assign work should be done within the time frame.

In conclusion, it seems obviously true to me that legal professionals strive for balance between long hours work and life. In order to make a balance between work and life in legal profession that need to improve and resolve some significant problems which is inherited from seniors lawyers and culture of legal profession.

Source:  http://www.law21.ca/2009/06/the-legacy-of-work-life-balance/