Dear Advy,
Is it normal to feel guilty for not working late when everyone else in my firm does? As a lawyer early in my career, I'm feeling the weight of systemic expectations like constant availability, departmental pressure, and burnout. How do I advocate for structural change—both for myself and future lawyers—while still navigating billable-hour culture? I’m doing my best to set healthy boundaries; however, it doesn’t stop me from feeling anxious about my choices.
Sincerely,
Working Late Woes
Dear Working Late Woes,
Do I get bonus points for answering your letter after 5:00pm?
Your letter raises a persistent problem in our profession, so thank you for writing in. If you ever feel like you are alone in having this worry, please take a moment and read the 2022 National Study on the Health and Wellness Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada, and particularly the discussion of the need for training in managing these kinds of concerns. You are far from alone.
The toughest barrier to boundary-setting, especially when it comes to staying in the office late when there is no immediate reason to do so, is that unspoken, unarticulated pressure to do what your peers appear to be doing. Of course, that pressure works like a one-way valve. Each person sees others staying late, so each person stays late based on the perception that everyone else is doing it. Each person stays available just a little longer than that person’s peers, which then feeds back into that group perception that “everyone is doing it.” No one wants to be the first person to break that cycle. Even when your firm says in its firm policies; even when senior lawyers tell you that you don’t have to be available 24/7, being the person who gets to the elevators to leave the office at the end of the day before others in the office seem to be ready to leave is incredibly intimidating especially when you are early in your career.
Referring to “peer pressure” may sound a bit odd. After all, isn’t peer pressure something that begins and ends in adolescence? Well, no. Peer pressure continues to motivate our behaviour well into young adulthood and perhaps even beyond that point. Particularly when we are in a new environment, we humans tend to look at others around us for cues as to how we are supposed to behave. You are naturally looking around you, seeing that others seem to be staying late, and concluding that this is the norm in your office environment.
An even more ominous part of this tacit requirement to stay late in the office is the perception that firm decisions about who to retain and who to promote within the firm appear to be underpinned by how late you stay in the office. The easy, pat answer would be to tell you not to worry about it. Forge your own path! Be your own person! Firms will reward results not who has the most visibility in the office!
Unfortunately, we all know that it’s not that simple. Those are great sentiments, of course, but you are a junior lawyer trying to make a start in the firm culture and you can’t afford to be that cavalier about your own future career. I’ll spare you the platitudes you have no doubt heard many times before. I also won’t go into the many good reasons why you need to draw the kind of boundaries around your time and your life. Your letter suggests you are well aware of those, although you or your fellow firm members may be able to get some ideas from a couple of previous letters to this column.
Your specific question is “How do I advocate for structural change—both for myself and future lawyers—while still navigating billable-hour culture?” You mention factors like pressure to be constantly available, departmental pressure and burnout. The reality you are facing is that at least in the short term you are stuck in a structure that rewards high billings and punishes low billings. Could that structure change at some point in ways that are more supportive of lawyers’ mental and physical health? Yes, it could but saying that things may change does not resolve the question you have posed. So, in the context of what is at least for now a framework for career advancement founded on the billable hour, what can you do to set and maintain healthy boundaries to protect your health and happiness?
The starting point for a plan to advocate for change while bearing in mind the reality of your firm structure is this: Despite being a junior lawyer, you have much more influence on how the culture of your workplace develops than you imagine you do. You can find some specific tips on how to change a “grind culture” at your firm in a previous letter to this column. Even if they don’t seem to be responsive to your concerns, your firm management probably pays more attention to what you say than it seems to. Your voice is heard even if it doesn’t seem to be heard. Pay attention to changes in behaviour at your firm as you try to change things rather than looking for positive words from firm managers. After all, there is probably already some dissonance between what your firm says about working late versus what the firm seems to do about it. Don’t expect a ‘mea culpa’ from the rest of your firm. Watch what other lawyers do in response to your advocacy.
Remember that your firm is worried about having enough billings to cover the overhead and make a profit. Much of the time you spend hanging around the office (or doing much the same virtually in the form of always being available by e-mail, text messaging or the like) is what is called “face time”. That is, you are spending time being visible to other members of your firm as a reminder that you exist and could take on work. You will never be able to post time or bill for that constant availability, and it will not be reflected in your annual tally of billable hours; at least not directly. That means that your face time in the office also doesn’t help the firm’s quest to cover overhead and remain profitable.
Am I advocating never being visible in your firm environment? No, not at all. Yes, you do have to remind other lawyers who may be sources of work for you that you exist and can help them. However, there is no inherent conflict between maintaining some kind of personal life outside of work and meeting your firm’s needs for a return on the investment it made in you. It’s not easy to strike that balance between availability and having a life to call your own. There is no one-size-fits-all solution either.
Your best tool to change the culture of your workplace is to collaborate with others. Alone, you are much less effective than if you can speak for a group of people in the firm, whether that be your own peer group or even just lawyers of any vintage who seem like they may be receptive to changing the work culture. Talk about your worries with your colleagues. Take care also not to vilify the people who seem to be applying pressure to stay late. It’s more likely than not that they are also responding to that invisible peer pressure I discussed above. They are probably applying that pressure on you unconsciously or, at most, semi-consciously. Even if there is deliberately applying pressure to stay long hours, blaming and shaming someone like that will likely backfire. Your goal is to spend less time on unproductive face time while maintaining the firm’s goal of a return on investment.
That will be terrifying at first. However, you will find that people are generally more receptive when you ask for help than you expect and each time you do broach the subject, it will become easier. It is also good to remember that you don’t have to go through that terror alone. Your local lawyer assistance program can provide you with professional, confidential counselling support to help you take your life back. Many lawyer assistance programs also have peer support programs that can connect you with other lawyers in your area who can provide help to you get through this. You will probably find that the worry you are raising is pretty close to universal in this profession, so you have a good chance of finding a sympathetic ear. You can also find good sounding-boards and mentors by joining a local CBA branch section which connects you with your peers in terms of practice area and/or work cohort. Consider joining the Young Lawyers section in your community and/or a substantive law section.
As you make connections with others in your firm and even outside your firm, don’t just talk at them about your concerns about the amount of time you have to make available to your firm. Listen to their concerns and ideas as well. As I mentioned above, your firm’s need for an adequate return on investment and your need to have a healthy happy life do not have to be in conflict. Others around you may have some great ideas and practices that help you reconcile those two needs so that they don’t conflict or at least don’t conflict as often. You may be surprised at the great ideas and emotional support you find among your colleagues when you ask. You may even be the one who gives them permission to think and talk about how they balance work and life.
The great thing about advice from people working beside you is that it is tailored to your firm’s culture. That’s something your humble advice columnist can never replace.
Be well,
Advy