UK Lawyers Expect Little Break This Holiday Season
Most lawyers expect no break between Christmas and New Year and say they will be checking email constantly on the days they are off.
December 23, 2019 at 04:49 AM
4 minute read
London's lawyers expect little respite this Christmas, with half expecting no holiday and the majority expecting to check emails constantly during the days they are off.
Seven in 10 lawyers expect to work during the period between Christmas and New Year, according to a survey carried out by Law.com's Legal Week into the industry's working habits over the holidays. Only 9% said they would "definitely not" be working during that time.
The majority of them also expect it to be as busy if not busier than the same period last year.
In addition, almost two thirds of the 70 Big Question survey respondents said they would be checking their email at least every few hours.
One survey respondent said: "Clients expect full attention over the Christmas period, especially by those who do not celebrate it. If you do not want to do it, one or more of our competitors will gladly do so."
"Clients expect full attention over the Christmas period. If you do not want to do it, one or more of our competitors will gladly do so."
One respondent pointed to the prevalence of technology and the ability to work from home as making it easier for clients to contact them over the holiday season.
"I am effectively 'on call' over Christmas, and if clients need stuff done over that period so be it. It is much easier than it used to be thanks to smartphones and home working set-up, although at the same time the same devices make us much more contactable and many clients are not 'shy' to call or email for help when they know you are off," they said.
"Devices make us much more contactable and many clients are not 'shy' to call or email for help when they know you are off"
Only one respondent said they did not expect to check their emails at all while on holiday.
One more senior respondent pointed out that just because the technology is available, does not mean it necessarily has to be used.
"Rightly or wrongly I have found that as I have become more 'experienced', i.e. become older, I can all too easily disconnect myself from office and e mails," they said. "I think that while there is a balance to be drawn between losing hunger and becoming more measured that the longer one is in the job the more one is able to recognise and manage actual as against perceived urgency."
However, for those who are working, three out of four expect to work reduced hours of five hours or less per day. Just 16% of respondents said they expect to work eight hours or more per day.
One lawyer surveyed said the political uncertainty of recent months and the prospect of a Jeremy Corbyn-led government had been "threatening to hijack our Christmas break."
"With a huge Tory majority, tax and private client lawyers can relax. High net worth clients can now happily jet off to their favourite holiday spots, with a return rather than one-way ticket," they added.
"I really thought that my efforts would be appreciated… This year, I have no intention of being such a mug again!"
Even so, one unimpressed lawyer was firm in their assertion they would not be working during the period, as they recounted a tale of caution from 2018.
"Last year I worked through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the day after, with no support, on an emergency matter of utmost importance. It left me completely exhausted but, in my innocence, I really thought that my efforts would be appreciated.
"The reality was that I received no credit for this from my firm and it took months before my client paid my very reasonable bill. As a result of this, I got endless kickings from a director in the business. This year, I have no intention of being such a mug again!"
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTribunal Dismisses AML Case Against Kennedys’ Chief Risk Officer, But Ex-Partner Fined
2 minute readLatham, Skadden Among Firms Acting on Mubadala's $3.4 B Acquisition of CI Financial
2 minute readDLA Piper Takes Greenberg Traurig’s Corporate Partner for Seoul
Cuatrecasas Elevates Seven to Partner in Spain and Latin America
Trending Stories
- 1Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 2Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 3NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 4A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
- 5Deception or Coercion? California Supreme Court Grants Review in Jailhouse Confession Case
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250