The coronavirus has changed how young lawyers work, but not how much they're expected to bill. Photo: fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Despite the global coronavirus pandemic shuttering offices and shifting law firms remote, the majority of law firm associates feel that their firms are communicating well and providing adequate mental health resources, according to a newly released survey conducted by Major, Lindsey & Africa and Above the Law.

But a drop in work across several practice areas combined with increased stress and family responsibilities at home has associates clamoring for firms to lower their billable hour target.

The survey, which polled more than 1,300 associates between April 13 and April 21, found that around 39% of associates have seen a decrease in their workload. And the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has had an inconsistent effect: 57.8% of real estate associates, 42.8% of intellectual property associates, 41.7% of tax associates and 39.8% of corporate associates reported less work.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, bankruptcy and health care associates reported a 52.6% and 43.8% increase in work respectively. Around 61% of respondents said their work load has stayed consistent or increased.

Many respondents reported that the pandemic has affected their productivity as they deal with complicated family situations, the specter of unemployment and the isolation that has become a hallmark of the pandemic—as well as the constant news about death and sickness in their communities.

Around 11% of associates said their mental health was their primary concern. Nearly 75% of respondents said job security or cost-cutting measures were their top concerns amid the pandemic.

In spite of these challenges, the majority of associates commended their firms in how they're handling communication and mental health resources in response. Around 69% said they were satisfied with how often firm management was communicating. Nearly 58% of respondents were satisfied with the wellness resources their firms have created during the pandemic.

"What is really great to see is that firms have shifted dramatically from the way that they were communicating in the last recession in 2008," said Ru Bhatt, a partner in Major Lindsey's associate practice group. "Associates value transparency, and firms have acknowledged that, so communications have spiked."

Bhatt said many law firm managing partners are sending out clear, candid updates to their employees weekly. And many firms that had mental health programming before the pandemic hit have maintained their initiatives—some have even expanded access and bolstered those offerings.

Despite these resources, many associates are finding that law firms need to reduce billable hours given the broad pay cuts at many firms and the increased stress and turmoil caused by the pandemic.

Nearly a quarter of respondents said that they've received more work, even as many firms cut pay for associates by as much as 25%. An overwhelming majority of firms, 93.5%, have not adjusted billable hour targets, according to the respondents.

"At the end of the survey, we asked 'what would you like to be changed,' said Bhatt. "Billable hour changes were the top concern."

It is worth noting, though, that associates have advocated for reduced billable hour requirements even before the pandemic. In a 2019 associate survey, Major Lindsey found that 75% of associates would take a pay cut in exchange for reduced hours.

Gender and Tech

Gender also played a role in how a respondent thought about billable hour changes. Women were twice as likely to be concerned about billable hours compared with men—a trend Bhatt said could not be explained from the collected data.

Familiar gender lines also came through in the survey: Women were three times more likely to worry about child care amid the pandemic, while men were four times more likely to say their biggest concern was its effect on the partnership track.

"Unfortunately, the differences we found tend to fall around traditional gender norms," Bhatt said.

Looking toward the future, a vast majority of respondents believe the pandemic will forever change the business of law. Around 60% of the respondents believe that the crisis will lead to permanent changes in the legal industry with 30% saying they are unsure and just 10% saying that nothing will change.

Nearly 95% of the respondents who said the pandemic will lead to long-term change said that law firms will alter their remote work policies. Around 82% said that the crisis will change how law firms use technology. And 57% said that the amount or configuration of physical office space will see change as well.

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