A report published by law firm Allen & Overy’s flexible working service Peerpoint suggests that lawyers are increasingly looking to new ways of working to achieve their career goals. The Future for Legal Talent report is based on a survey of over 1,000 lawyers and law students. It also found that more than 80 percent of respondents believe new entrants to the legal profession will feel the work and commitment needed to reach partnership status may not be worthwhile. Even among those who want to become partner, just 21 percent feel they will make it. One in four (24 percent) said they have considered quitting the profession altogether.
The report concludes that traditional working methods and career paths are no longer sufficient to keep people engaged with their work.
Although partnership remains an ambition for many, attitudes are changing, and an increasing number are turning to less conventional means for job satisfaction, with 20 percent of respondents saying they want to see the profession move away from the partnership model.