Survey Results Consistent with Work/Life Balance Issue

The most significant statistic uncovered in the exit survey of active lawyers showed that the largest number of women moving to the inactive list were called to the bar after 2000.

Lawyers were asked to respond to questions posed in an on-line survey tool. Of the 34 who retired and 274 who moved from active to inactive status as of March 15, 2007, 122 responded to the survey. Of interest:

34% of women and 12.5% of men experienced discrimination while practising law (almost identical to last year).
40% who left the practice of law continue to be employed elsewhere. 20% reported that their work was somewhat related to their legal training, and for 70% it was very related.
The highest satisfaction with the practice of law came from the intellectual challenge of the work, contact with clients, employment benefits and working relationships with colleagues, support staff and court personnel.
Respondents were least satisfied with the stressful nature of the work, the lack of balance with their personal life, the adversarial nature of the work, hours of work, the lack of available mentoring and the opportunities for advancement (unchanged from 2006).
The top two factors for leaving the Alberta law practice related to personally rewarding opportunities elsewhere and lack of balance with personal life.
23 respondents (or 19%) continue to work for a law firm in another jurisdiction. Also, 54% of the men surveyed and 43% of the women intend to return to active practice. And 54% of the men and 37% of the women would still become a lawyer if they could do it all over again.

The exit survey is conducted annually by the Equality, Equity and Diversity Committee of active members who moved to the inactive list or retired.

Profitability and Lawyer Retention

By Nancy Carruthers, Practice Advisor, and Jocelyn Frazer, Equity Ombudsperson, Law Society of Alberta

The theme of this Advisory is the retention of women in the legal profession, though it appears we need to be concerned about the retention of lawyers in general. The issue is important for both economic and societal reasons.

There are approximately 8000 active lawyers in Alberta, 66% of whom are men. Approximately 5500 lawyers are in private practice and approximately 2500 are in-house. Women comprise almost 29% of the private practitioners, while they make up 44% of in-house lawyers. Of interest, in-house lawyers up to 15 years at the bar include slightly more women than men, though that trend reverses amongst the more senior in-house practitioners.

Equal numbers of men and women have been graduating from Canadian law schools for approximately the last 20 years. Men and women were not, however, called to the Alberta bar in equal numbers until 2000. What is perhaps even more surprising is that men seem to be leaving the profession with almost as much frequency as women.

By way of example, and with reference to specific years of call, 40% of the women and 28% of the men called in 1990 are no longer practicing. Thirty-nine percent of the women and 38% of the men called in 1986 are also no longer in practice. Of those called in 2000, 27% of the women and 18% of the men were not practicing within six years of being called.

The number of lawyers of both genders who are leaving the profession is troubling when one considers the investment those lawyers and their firms have made in their training and education. It has been estimated that the cost to a firm of a fourth year associate's departure is $315,000.

For the past four years, the Law Society has been conducting exit surveys of active members who became inactive or retired. The top reasons among both genders for leaving the profession continue to be the availability of more personally rewarding opportunities elsewhere, and lack of balance with personal life.

Sixty percent of last year's respondents were simply moving on to more satisfying employment. Suggested changes to the profession included better work/life balance, more opportunities for part-time employment, greater recognition of family demands, improved civility and more flexible insurance and fee structures. The effect of the “billable hour” was the subject of specific criticism.

Access to justice is also affected as we are losing experienced lawyers and have not made any gains in the number of lawyers available, per capita, to the Alberta population in the last 20 years.

In the meantime, matters have grown in complexity and, due to market forces, lawyers often seem to migrate toward bigger centres and bigger firms, where they may be less likely to handle files on behalf of the growing middle class in need of affordable personal legal services.

Concern for diversity in the legal profession is gaining attention. The Benchers of the Law Society of Upper Canada have recently adopted the recommendations of the Retention of Women in Private Practice Working Group. The CBA's Standing Committee on Equity has produced a Guide and Resource Manual for the legal profession, emphasizing the business case for diversity.

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The graph above shows the numbers of female and male lawyers currently in private practice and in-house positions, respectively, categorized according to year of call.