As a corporate lawyer who has worked with both small businesses and large multinational companies for more than seven years. I can say from personal experience that this job comes with long hours that aren’t always predictable. But things have changed in the last few years to be more flexible and balanced. Based on how things are going now, I’ll talk about “Corporate Lawyers’ Work Hours in 2024”.
The Steps Taken to Be Flexible
The billable hour model, which encourages lawyers to work longer, is still the most common way to run a law firm in 2022. Customers’ wants and needs are slowly changing, though. Clients expect better efficiency with new technologies like AI document automation. Work-life balance is also more important to Millennial and Gen Z lawyers.
Because of this, big law firms already let people work part-time, share jobs, and work from home. I think these kinds of flexible arrangements will become more common by 2024. If a company doesn’t change, it could lose its best employees to competitors with better rules. One lawyer on my team recently cut back to four days a week so she could spend more time with her young children.
The Continued Growth of In-house Teams
These days, companies don’t just hire outside law firms to do their legal work; they do more of it themselves. This trend lowers costs for clients and makes it easier for business and legal goals to be aligned.
From what I’ve seen, in-house lawyers often have better hours than law firm associates because they aren’t limited by billable hour goals. I think that even more legal work will be brought in-house in 2024. This will give corporate lawyers more freedom over their schedules. Instead of just billing by the hour, law firms may start to use a mix of fixed fees and value-based pricing.
Leveraging Technology for Efficiency
Today, AI tools are automating simple legal tasks like e-discovery, contract review, and due diligence. When it comes to complex strategic advice, lawyers are still needed, but technology can make routine legal work much faster.
From how quickly new technologies are being developed, I think AI and other new technologies will get even better by 2024. When lawyers use these tools, they can get more done and maybe even find a better work-life balance. Contract management platforms, for example, can cut the time it takes to review a contract from days to just hours.
The Growth of New Practice Models
Aside from the traditional law firm structure, other legal service providers like LegalZoom offer basic legal services at low costs through online tools and freelance lawyers. By 2024, more people will use these kinds of new practice models.
McKinsey thinks that new ways of delivering legal services could make up to half of the work that lawyers do automatically. This will cut down on the long hours that are usually needed to finish legal tasks by a large amount. Instead of chasing billable hours, corporate legal teams will have more freedom to assign work based on what needs to be done.
Enhanced Work-Life Balance Policies
With so many lawyers leaving their jobs and lawyers getting burned out, I think employers will realize that a bad work-life balance is not sustainable or productive in the long run. By 2024, firms and legal departments that are on the cutting edge will have stronger policies for well-being.
Some basic best practices that I think will become the norm are limiting work weeks to 80 hours. Requiring one weekend off every month, and encouraging paid vacation days. It will also be important for workplaces to respect people’s personal obligations outside of work.
Conclusion
Even though law work is unpredictable, recent trends show that corporate lawyers will have a better work-life balance by 2024. Different fee structures, small in-house teams, leveraging technology, new practice models. And higher standards for well-being can all help reduce the long hours that are usually part of this job.
The legal field has been resistant to change for a long time, but now it is being shaken up in a good way. As a corporate lawyer who has worked for both large firms and small, flexible startups. I’m hopeful for a future that values both good client service and the health and happiness of lawyers. Instead of sticking to old ways of overworking for profit. The changes that are coming are good news for my fellow young corporate lawyers who want to stay in this difficult, fast-paced, and important field. I hope you like the article “Corporate Lawyers’ Work Hours in 2024”.
Aseem Sahni is a distinguished first-generation corporate lawyer at CorporateLawyers.in, specializing in Corporate and Commercial law. His expertise spans Mergers & Acquisitions, media and entertainment, private equity, and securities laws. Aseem provides strategic guidance on corporate advisory, drafting and negotiating key agreements, and legal due diligence across various sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, and technology.
With experience from leading national and international law firms, Aseem advises Indian listed companies on securities laws and corporate governance. He actively publishes articles and research papers on legal and societal issues. Connect with Aseem on LinkedIn.