Survey reveals poor morale of public sector lawyers


Andrew Caplen

Caplen: Firms must have “sound performance management”

Fewer than half the lawyers in central and local government are satisfied with their jobs and only a third with their pay, research by the Law Society has revealed.

The figure of 42% compared with 63% of private practice lawyers who were satisfied with their jobs and 44% with their pay, according to the online poll of 344 solicitors.

A similar gulf was exposed between public and private when lawyers were asked about access to resources – 44% of public sector lawyers were satisfied, compared to 66% in the private sector.

However, when it came to work-life balance, 67% of central and local government lawyers were happy, compared to 54% in private practice. The vast majority, 81%, were proud to work for their public sector organisation, compared to 76% who felt the same way about their law firms.

Public sector lawyers were also the most positive about the impact of their work on their organisation’s success – 97% compared to 89%.

The society’s Career Satisfaction Survey showed a link between lack of involvement in decision-making and poor morale.

Most respondents (62%) were happy with their career progression to date – compared to 50% for the general workforce. However, unhappiness was much more common among those who were not involved in decision-making – 28% compared to 10%.

“Moving forward, it will be important for organisations to consider whether their decision-making structures are suitable for a modern legal workforce,” researchers said.

“Expectations for a more collaborative approach to decision-making are growing, and research has shown that greater cross-practice collaboration within law firms has a positive impact on revenue, as well as client and talent retention.”

Nearly a third of solicitors, 30%, were unhappy with their work-life balance. Women were less satisfied than men – 34% compared to 24%.

Younger lawyers were more likely to say they would change jobs in the next 12 months. More than a third of those aged 25-34 said they would, compared to just over a quarter of all respondents.

Just under a half of solicitors said they were not confident of getting the feedback they needed from employers to develop their careers effectively.

Law Society president Andrew Caplen commented: “It is encouraging that, as a whole, legal professionals are more content with their careers than average UK employees.

“To retain the best talent, it is important that firms make sure they have a sound performance management process, where staff have regular opportunities for two-way feedback and there is a chance to work together on development plans to help achieve their goals.”

Tags:




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


Five key issues to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech

As generative AI starts to play a bigger role in our working lives, there are some key issues that your law firm needs to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech.


Bulk litigation – not always working in consumers interests

For consumers to get the benefit, bulk litigation needs to be done well, and we are increasingly concerned that there are significant problems in some areas of this market.


ABSs, cost and audits – fixing regulation after Axiom Ince

A feature of law firm collapses and frauds has sometimes been the over-concentration of power in outdated and overburdened systems of control.


Loading animation