Law Firm Culture

A collection of positive values in the workplace.

Have you ever been curious as to what goes on in the minds of other legal practitioners? Have you ever wondered whether you measure up?

It’s only natural, after all it’s human nature to be curious about the world and the people around you – how do they do what they do?

With that in mind, join us as we investigate frequently discussed topics, with the aim of discovering innovative approaches to the practice of a law in an ever-changing and evolving world.

Take this blog’s topic – law firm culture – how do you go about building a culture that improves the well-being of employees, business growth and of course client experience?

What is Law Firm Culture?

When scouring the internet for definitions of what workplace culture is in general and what law firm culture is in particular, you are met with collaboration, diversification, and inclusion. All the things that should be included in the culture of where you work. Or at least you hope so.

Let’s be honest – law firms are not particularly famous for their fabulous workplace cultures where there’s a healthy work-life balance where both mental health and overall employee well-being is held as a top priority. No. Law firms are notorious for long days (and sometimes nights too), competitive billable hours and the need to “always be on” and always be available for your clients who may need your assistance at the drop of a hat. There’s a lot of pressure here.

From long hours to poor work-life balance to inequitable compensation, many attorneys struggle to succeed within a law firm culture that just doesn’t support them. And that lack of support prevents attorneys reaching their full potential.

It’s taxing mentally, emotionally, and physically.

So, when looking at a law firm’s culture the last thing that anyone wants is lip service. Simply including the latest buzzword as part of a firm’s culture so that the law firm appears woke and consistent with the times.

And yet, having said that, it’s important to know what the workplace culture is so that employees know whether they are aligned – will the employer and employee see eye to eye on points of culture, ones of importance, ones that will support the lawyers within their ranks? Because surely the creation of a law firm culture that supports lawyers and treats all employees fairly is critical to success?

So, then what is law firm culture?

Law firm culture includes things like “core values, communication norms, time and output expectations of lawyers, career development opportunities, social connections between colleagues, and approach to decision making”.

More broadly speaking, workplace culture includes things like management style, available benefits, the way the workplace is decorated, and the personalities and beliefs of the people who work there.

Culture is – in essence – a collection of all the values that make employees happy or unhappy in the workplace.

The importance of a positive workplace culture

When people feel comfortable and happy at their place of work, their propensity to perform well increases. As employee performance increases, so do billable hours, so does client satisfaction and employee retention. And this all leads to the growth and success of the firm. Here are some more ways a strong workplace culture can benefit a law firm –

1. Attracting and Retaining Talent: a strong, positive culture can help create a sense of belonging and can make lawyers feel invested in the success of the firm. This feeling of “belonging and being invested” creates value and ensures that lawyers feel supported and appreciated in the firm. And who wouldn’t want to work in an environment like that? It’s also a sure-fire way to attract and retain top-tier talent.
2. Improved Collaboration: a strong culture can foster better collaboration among colleagues, and this can lead to improved communication, improved teamwork, and overall, a better outcome for clients.
3. Increased Productivity: when lawyers feel supported and valued, they are more likely to be productive. A happy team is a productive team. Simple as that.
4. Enhanced Reputation: a law firm that is known to have happy, productive lawyers that go the extra mile – because they want to – is a good reputation to have within the legal community. And we all know how reputations get around. This can then lead to more referrals and more business. A win-win situation for all, it seems like to us.

How to build a positive workplace culture

1. What is your current situation? first things first – what does your current law firm culture look like? It’s time to look at the good and the bad. Address the elephant in the room. Get feedback from those within the firm and take any negative comments to heart. It would also be good to look at industry standards – new standards like flexibility in the workplace and mental health awareness programs. Not old standards like every lawyer must be in the office by 8am and leave at 8pm or every lawyer must wear a black suit and white shirt to work. It’s a clean out process – out with the old, outdated, redundant and ineffectual and in with the new, current, flexible, and productive.
2. Define your values – now that you have consulted with the employees of your firm – meaning you have included everyone in the process from the get-go – and have conducted industry research assessing who are the top law firms worldwide and what are their values, what is their culture like? You can begin to look at your own values. Draft a clear statement of your firm’s vision and values which will serve as a roadmap for your culture, and which will create a sense of unity among employees.
3. What are your options? first and foremost it’s important to note that there really isn’t a cookie-cutter “best” law firm culture to emulate. Sure, there may be ideas that appeal to you and how you run your firm but the way to define a culture that works best for you is to look at how you (actually) run your firm – that should reflect your culture and what’s most important to you. If a hybrid work environment is what works best for you, your culture should reflect that. If you’re entirely flexible, then your culture needs to reflect that. Explore different models and how they may best serve your unique firm and your unique needs.
4. Put it in writing – write down your values and what’s important to your firm’s culture. Once you’ve articulated these ideas on paper, make them easily accessible to the rest of the firm. Distribute them around the office so that your law firm’s values and culture are always in view.
5. Revise regularly – the trick to defining your culture is not to do it once and think your job is done. You need to look at your law firm’s culture at regular intervals to determine if anything needs tweaking or changing. After all, things are hardly ever stagnant, and the world is forever changing. Perhaps your culture needs to be flexible enough to change with the times as time evolves. Or maybe it’s fine as it is. You’ll never know unless you re-evaluate it every so often.
6. Involve everyone – control is tough for many of us to give up. But give it up we must. Because this is not a one-person task. Defining your workplace culture impacts everyone at your firm. And in order to develop a strong law firm culture you need more than one person’s input. Involve staff and other lawyers in every stage of the process. Two heads are better than one and multiple heads well, you get the idea. Who knows what ideas come up.

A law firm’s culture lets everyone around them know who they are and what they stand for. It tells people what they’re all about. A strong law firm culture is an opportunity to set a law firm apart from the crowd – which is a good thing when there are so many law firms around.  

A strong law firm culture that aligns with the values that are important to the law firm, creates an environment that makes lawyers feel more supported, more valued, and more motivated.

The natural result? Lawyers are engaged and are naturally more productive.

That’s a win for the lawyers, and a win for the business. A no-brainer.

So, what’s your law firm culture?

– Written by Alicia Koch on behalf of AJS

(Sources used and to whom we owe thanks: Clio; InfoTrack; Lawclerk and LinkedIn)