Flexibility in Canadian Law Firms
Research Series
The Flexibility in Canadian Law Firms series is Catalyst's contribution to law firm's efforts to address work-life balance issues among their lawyers. The first report in the series, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Building the Business Case for Flexibility (March 2005), analyzed the work-life balance perceptions and challenges faced by law firm associates and then calculated the financial impact of losing top legal talent using standard cost accounting methods. The second report, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Creating Opportunities for Better Balance (November 2006), provides a baseline of how associates and partners perceive work-life balance within their firms, explores possible factors that influence and predict lawyers' work-life balance perceptions and attitudes, and determines if there are differences in work-life balance perceptions and attitudes among women and men lawyers. In the third report, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: Lawyers State Their Case on Job Flexibility (November 2006), lawyers suggest what needs to happen to law firm work environments in order to combat the negative experiences lawyers have with flexibility in their firms.
A web-based survey was fielded to lawyers in more than 100 Canadian law firms in the fall of 2003. More than 1,400 lawyers participated in the survey, including 846 associates. Qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with men and women lawyers provides supplemental data points and context.