Most lawyers have had to put their careers on pause as economic activity falters during the lockdown. But for one group they have never been busier.

Junior lawyers working in-house would normally be spending their time on basic matters with oversight from more senior colleagues. Now they have thrust into advising on the top-level advisory work as general counsel take on a wider variety of tasks and companies look to keep their costs down.

The situation is so extreme that some law firms are taking their time to explain things to junior lawyers without a charge, according to one general counsel at a media company.

"I'm doing work I never expected I would because of COVID-19", said one general counsel. "The work I'd usually do is what I have pushed downwards."

"My speciality area is where my junior team don't have that expertise, so I've focused on this particularly and the new sense of responsibility is growing their skill set."

The general counsel added the increased responsibility for juniors means legal teams need to "provide support to make that work and carve out time to do it as you've lost the ease of supervision you get working together in an office".

"The work I'd usually do is what I have pushed downwards."

Other legal heads echoed this shift in responsibilities. One general counsel at a digital bank said the huge uptick in work has stretched their legal team's capacity, particularly because of the nature of the work.

"It's not business as usual", he said, "it's over and above, and quite technical".

He outlined that the issues now being taken on by junior lawyers – and the majority of in-house teams - are challenging because there is often no right or wrong answer, and there are many legal, regulatory and conduct considerations to make.

Simon Harper, co-founder of alternative legal service provider LOD, agreed that the type of work trickling down to junior lawyers is typically more towards genuine contract expertise, according to feedback from clients. "[We're] finding that experienced paralegals are being used more and more for in house contract drafting and negotiation", he said.

"This not only means that clients get their lower value contracts done in an efficient way but that junior professionals get access to varied and meaningful work where they can add great value."

Not necessarily a bad thing

But throwing juniors in at the deep end is not necessarily a bad thing, according to the general counsel at a travel company, who even before the pandemic had a philosophy of giving junior lawyers work that would take them out of their comfort zone.

The GC said the team is currently supporting a junior lawyer through an M&A transaction, but stressed this isn't solely down to the pandemic. They try to offer more responsibilities in order to maintain better retention rates and better performance.

"It's on the GC to trust and grow junior lawyers – either doing it themselves or ensuring their team are empowered to do it".

Similarly, one London-based corporate partner said that GCs are often doing more with less and do not have infinite budgets, so this expansion of junior lawyer role -  even if temporary – will be beneficial as their teams will be well-trained.

He added, however, that while firms strive for their junior lawyers and trainees to be busy and challenged, the less sophisticated work is a part of every deal and "somebody needs to do it".

Few expect a permanent transformation of the junior lawyer role. "It's a short-term reaction to a stress point which is causing different types of issues and all at the same time", said the digital bank GC.

Yet, one bank GC said she'd be open to things continuing this way if she saw lawyers stepping up, noting it will "add to their kudos in the business and career". She added that "most lawyers are diligent" so there's no reason why they shouldn't take on more.

"They should get some good learning experiences out of it", they added.

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