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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
UNHAPPY HOURS - For most working in the legal industry, the concept of this ever being a mere “9-to-5″ job was always laughable. But now? For many lawyers, especially working parents, it’s more like a “5-to-8-(break to make your kids breakfast/help them with remote school/make lunch/clean up glitter)-4-to-6-(break for dinner/dishes/bath time/bedtime/clean up more glitter)-9-to-2 a.m.-(rinse and repeat)” kind of job. Meanwhile, even those attorneys who don’t have to corral young kids are at the mercy of clients and colleagues across various time zones who have grown more comfortable with communicating at all hours of the day. As Law.com’s Dylan Jackson reports in part 1 of a series about how the pandemic has changed lawyers’ work schedules and billable hours, attorneys are working erratic hours as lines between home and work have evaporated and an unprecedented boom in work pushes firm attorneys to their limits. Law firms in turn are trying everything: job sharing, extra vacation and huge bonuses to accommodate as burnout and retention issues loom. But will any of it be enough?
