Remote working is gaining in popularity

Almost three quarters of lawyers at large firms in the U.K. now work from home at least once a month, in the latest sign of changing working practices in the industry.

A Legal Week survey of hundreds of U.K. lawyers found 72% of those at firms with more than 1,000 fee-earners spend some time working from home, with nearly half of those doing so three days a month or more.

Across the whole of the legal industry, the percentage working from home was just under two thirds.

There was no major difference between men and women, although women were more likely to spend more than two days per month working remotely.

Four out of five lawyers with children said they spend time working from home, compared with 46% of those without children. Accordingly, younger lawyers were the least likely to work from home.

Travers Smith human resources director Moira Slape said that while the firm doesn't have a "carte blanche" approach to its lawyers working from home, the firm has seen an uptick in requests to work remotely in recent years. She added that improvements in technology, including the introduction of small laptops, "allow people to be more efficient when they're not in the office".

Agile working has gained popularity across the industry in recent years. Earlier this year, Sandra Wallace, DLA Piper's joint managing director for the U.K. and Europe and former U.K. managing partner, said: "A glaring myth would be that if you work part-time, you're not as committed. I think that the answer is to embed agile working practices within a business and to make sure that it's role-modelled at every level.

"If it becomes the norm for everyone, then it's no longer a 'woman' thing."

The Legal Week Job Satisfaction survey, which garnered responses from across the British legal sector, also highlighted that more than half of female lawyers have seen or experienced sexual harassment during their career, and that just under half of lawyers have experienced mental health-related illnesses such as depression and stress due to their work.