Best Practice #3: Clients Need to Signal Support for Flexible Work
Background: The importance of diversity to companies and to the legal profession is well-known; Connection general counsel stressed the importance of flexible work as a means to ensure continuity of service and to aid in increasing law firm diversity. Connection members stressed law departments can have a big influence on their outside counsel by signaling and communicating that flexibility without penalty is important to them.
Best Practice: In-house members of the Connection will clearly signal their support for work-life balance for outside counsel.
- Signaling support in written communications. Connection general counsel will add to their RFPs, engagement letters, and/or outside counsel guidelines, language that signals that they seek to work with qualified reduced-hours attorneys and will seek, wherever possible, to support attorneys’ need for work-life balance.
- Signaling support in day-to-day interactions. In face-to-face communications, Connection members will consistently communicate that they expect law firms to offer flexibility without penalty as part of their commitment to diversity. In day-to-day interactions, Connection members will consistently communicate: a) their willingness to respect outside counsel’s need for work-life balance whenever possible, b) that “being available” means that a lawyer is available when the client needs him or her—not that the lawyer guarantees 24-7 availability, and c) that outside counsel should feel free to suggest a teleconference instead of in-person meetings, both to control costs and to aid work-life balance.
