Ride the Lightning

ABA Survey: Practicing Law in the Pandemic and Moving Forward!

May 6, 2021

Thanks to Attorney at Work for a terrific post about the ABA’s new survey entitled, Practicing Law in the Pandemic and Moving Forward.” Released in late April, the survey included more than 4,200 ABA members, one of the largest surveys ever by the ABA.

The survey was commissioned by the American Bar Association’s Coordinating Group on Practice Forward. It’s the ABA’s version of “never let a good crisis go to waste,” a motto often used by Winston Churchill and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

“Periods of major disruption can offer tremendous opportunities for leaders to rethink paradigms and improve processes,” ABA President Patricia Lee Refo said in a press release. “This report sets out a range of practices for legal employers to consider the best path forward.”

The survey was conducted in fall 2020, before all the good news about the vaccine, when it was hard to imagine a new normal. The survey found that “across the board, in every category, women and attorneys of color reported higher anxiety levels and pressures from all fronts (feeling disconnected, worrying about business development, etc.) than their white male counterparts.”

“As shown by the data, ABA members generally show much higher levels of stress in trying to manage work and home; higher levels of disengagement with the social aspects of work; and more frequent thoughts about whether full-time work is worth it,” the survey states.

When preliminary data was released in February at the virtual Midyear Meeting, the ABA offered two resolutions. Resolution 300A encourages courts, bar associations, legal employers and law schools to develop and make accessible resources, such as educational programming or employee assistance programs, to advance well-being in the profession.

The second measure, Resolution 300B, urges Congress and state, local, territorial and tribal legislatures to pass legislation and provide adequate funding to ensure access to “fair, affordable and high-quality child care and family care.”

More than 50% of women with children ages five or younger said they would rather work part-time, compared with the overall average of 35%. The stress does not abate significantly as the kids enter their school-age years. More than 40% of women with children older than five also indicated a willingness to work part-time.

A notable quote from the survey:

“For many of these questions, race and ethnicity showed an even greater impact. Compared to a year ago, lawyers of color have even higher levels of stress about work; are more likely to think the day never ends; have greater difficulty taking time off from work; feel overwhelmed with all the things they have to do; feel it is hard to keep work and home separate; and find work disrupted by family and household obligations.”

Regardless of gender, race or ethnicity, most lawyers report they are working longer hours and suffering from the lack of whatever buffer a commute might offer to work-life balance. More than half (57%) worked 41 or more hours per week and close to 80% of the sample continued to work full-time or close to full-time.

According to the survey report:

“In contrast, white lawyers were significantly more likely than lawyers of color to miss seeing people at the office, feel disengaged from their firm or employer, think it would be better to work part-time or to stop working entirely. These differences may reflect the greater engagement that white lawyers typically feel in the workplace, the comparatively greater economic flexibility enjoyed by many white lawyers, and the older age of white lawyers.”

Another concern for law firm leaders and industry observers is that women, diverse attorneys and younger lawyers report spending less time generating new business. That is understandable. A focus on surviving or coping, without sufficient firm support, leads to less business development and a long-term impact on these individuals’ careers.

“About 55% are spending less time on developing business or reaching out to clients. The presence of younger children in the household predicts even less outreach to clients.”

This may, of course, result in less (or no) advancement within the firm.

Regarding workplace resources and recognition, the survey asked lawyers whether, compared to a year ago, these experiences were more frequent:

• Getting overlooked for assignments or client opportunities
• Not receiving enough recognition for work you do
• Getting help with business development
• Receiving training and coaching
• Worrying about advancement
• Worrying about salary reduction
• Worrying about getting furloughed or laid off

“Every one of these seven concerns was experienced significantly more often now compared to a year ago, regardless of gender, race/ethnicity, or practice setting. At the top of the list were (a) more worry about a salary reduction (55%), (b) worry about getting furloughed or laid off (40%), and (c) worry about advancement (28%).”

Women generally worried more often about advancement, receiving a salary reduction, and getting furloughed or laid off.

Women with children felt more often than others that they were overlooked for assignments or client opportunities.

Lawyers of color, regardless of gender, worried more often about advancement.

Maybe the stress is endemic and not necessarily an outcome of the pandemic?

“The stress comes from a number of sources, including the feeling of standing out in a negative way from others at work; of having to represent your race or ethnicity or gender as the perfect role model; of not being accepted for who you really are; of having to hide your authentic self; of not being heard to the same extent as others; and much more. Higher levels of stress, feelings of social isolation, and always feeling ‘different’ are reasons why women and minorities leave law firms more often and sooner than majority lawyers and men.”

For mothers, there was this finding:

“We note that women lawyers who are shouldering the disproportionate burden of childcare and homeschooling are more anxious about meeting billable hour requirements and that their performance evaluations and compensation will be harmed because of an inability to manage their workload during the pandemic and meet client demands.”

Most employers were not reducing billable hours requirements and workloads during the COVID-19 crisis despite the salary freezes, reductions and furloughs at many firms. Not good for an employee’s mental health.

The survey also noted a difference in how secure attorneys feel in expressing concerns about workplace conditions, including health and safety:

“More women than men reported being ‘very concerned’ or ‘extremely concerned’ about expressing health/safety concerns to an employer (10% of women versus 3% of men); that working remotely would be viewed as lacking commitment to an employer (22% of women versus 8% of men); and that working remotely would create a risk of being put on furlough or having their job terminated (11% of women versus 5% of men). Lawyers with younger children, both women and men, were more likely to be very or extremely concerned about each of these three issues.”

Here’s an interesting quote:

“The majority of respondents (66%) believe it is likely or very likely that many lawyers in their particular workplace will continue working mostly or entirely remotely in 2021 and 2022. In that context, a sizable number of respondents —36%—reported that their personal preference is to have the flexibility to choose their own schedule from week to week. The remaining lawyers split roughly evenly between the option of working 4–5 days a week in the office (23%), or 2–3 days a week in the office (21%) or 1 day a week or rarely in the office (19%).”

In summary, the survey report reveals what it calls “striking differences in how lawyers view their workplaces.” And, it more specifically states, “Our data should raise alarm bells that there is a real potential for an exodus of diverse talent if implicit biases and differential treatment are not redressed.”

None of the survey is especially surprising. What is clear is that there is a real need for law firms to read the survey and address the concerns it raises. No easy task.

Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., President, Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
3975 University Drive, Suite 225|Fairfax, VA 22030
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