Lawyer Monthly Magazine - July 2019 Edition

34 Special Feature - Legal Tech JUL 2019 www. lawyer-monthly .com Is It Time to Get rid of the Billable Hour? At LawCare we have been providing emotional support to legal professionals for 21 years through our free, confidential, helpline and peer support network. We have visited hundreds of legal workplaces over the years and we have listened to thousands of people in the legal community tell us about the stress, anxiety and depression they are experiencing, which is often caused or exacerbated by long hours, high billing targets, and a competitive work environment. Lawyers who call us have often been working evenings and weekends for months at a time. We’ve had calls from solicitors who’ve arrived at the office on a Tuesday and not left until Sunday. There are many reasons why working in the law can be stressful, but one of the most common is the billable hour. Having time to pursue a life outside of work is vital for wellbeing. As human beings we need time to sleep, eat, see our family and friends, relax, be outside , take exercise – these are not simply ‘nice to haves’ – without these wellbeing can start to deteriorate very quickly. Legal Cheek’s annual arrival and leaving times survey in 2018 showed that, at one firm, the average leaving time of junior lawyers was 10.01pm, which leaves precious little time to do anything at all other than sleep. An American Bar Association study in 2016 found that psychological predictors of well-being decreased as lawyers were required to bill more hours. Those lawyers with higher billing targets experience a dip in motivation, satisfaction and increased levels of alcohol misuse. So if long hours lead to decreased personal wellbeing and stress why should the legal profession be worried about this as long as the work gets done? Because it can start to affect the bottom line. We know that stress contributes to raise levels of cortisol and other hormones, which negatively affect the brain’s ability to function and process information. Lawyers experiencing stress, anxiety or depression can find it difficult to concentrate, pay attention to detail or interact with colleagues. Regularly getting less than seven hours’ sleep has been shown to have a significant negative impact on performance. Judgment and decision making skills are