For a profession built on precedent, precision, and performance, the legal world often overlooks the one variable that underpins all others: the human being doing the work. The Life in the Law Survey 2025, conducted by LawCare, is more than a report—it’s a mirror of the profession.
I (Paul Bennett) declare two interests. Firstly, I was appointed by LawCare as one of their Champions a few years ago, it is a professional relationship of which I am proud, as I am passionate about culture, good management and work/life balance. Secondly, I advise law firms on management issues every day: my clients are management teams and Managing Partners/CEOs.
The 2025 findings reflect a profession that is intellectually rigorous but emotionally strained. It reveals a culture that rewards output but often neglects well-being. And it offers five key recommendations that, if embraced, could reshape the future of law—not just for firms, but for the people within them. My view is that these are so basic; it is equivalent to explaining any ball sport to a toddler – law firms are more than capable of playing the game like adults, but the survey shows that leadership and management must do far more to demonstrate their sophistication in so many ways: at all times, to all of their team.
The five recommendations are as follows:
1. Actively Manage Workloads
2. Prioritise and Value People Management
3. Embed Hybrid and Flexible Working Options
4. Evaluate Mental Health and Wellbeing Programmes
5. Improve Legal Education and Training
The key for me is delivering these recommendations consistently, every day. Let’s explore these lessons through the lens of better thinking and better leadership.
1. Workload Is Not Just a Metric—It’s a Signal
Most firms measure workload in hours, targets, and billables. But what if we measured it in energy, clarity, and sustainability?
The survey found that 78.7% of legal professionals regularly work beyond their contracted hours. This isn’t a badge of honour—it’s a warning sign. When work intensity becomes chronic, it erodes decision-making, creativity, and resilience.
Smart leaders don’t just manage time—they manage energy. They ask: What’s driving the overload? Is it poor delegation, unclear priorities, or a culture of presenteeism? The best law firms will treat workload not as a number to maximise, but as a signal to interpret.
2. People Management Is a Skill, Not a Side Hustle
In law, technical competence is table stakes. But the real differentiator is how well you lead others. For most solicitors, leadership is a side hustle; it is not their core role. This skill requires training, practice and feedback.
Only 54.6% of managers in the survey had received any training to manage people effectively. That’s not just a gap—it’s a liability. Poor management leads to disengagement, burnout, and attrition.
Leadership is not innate—it’s learned. Firms must invest in training that teaches empathy, feedback, conflict resolution, and psychological safety because the quality of a law firm’s culture is directly tied to the quality of its managers.
Leadership is a mindset: how can I help the team most effectively? How do I improve my leadership in this context?
3. Flexibility Is a Feature, Not a Flaw
Hybrid and flexible working are no longer perks—they’re expectations. But flexibility without intentionality leads to fragmentation.
The survey recommends embedding flexible work in a way that supports both well-being and inclusion. That means designing systems that balance autonomy with connection, and productivity with presence.
The future of work is not remote or in-office—it’s whatever works best for the team and the clients. Leaders must co-create working models with their teams, not impose them. Because when people feel trusted, they perform better.
My preference is no weekend working and, when on holiday, shutting off completely; others will differ. Still, flexibility driven by excellent outcomes and energy has to be better than prescribed outcomes imposed uniformly from above.
4. Wellbeing Programmes Must Be Measured, Not Marketed
Many firms have wellbeing initiatives. Few know if they truly work.
The survey calls for rigorous evaluation of mental health programmes. That means tracking outcomes, learning from failures, and iterating with purpose.
Wellbeing is not a tick box—it’s a strategy. It requires the same discipline we apply to legal analysis: evidence, reflection, and continuous improvement.
5. Education Must Go Beyond the Law
Legal education has long focused on technical mastery. But the survey urges a broader curriculum—one that includes human skills, emotional intelligence, and sustainable career practices. Imagine a football player who did not train by running, practising ball control, shooting and passing, they would be criticised for not training their core skills. Now ask yourself: as a leader in the legal profession when was the last time I trained in coaching others, strategy, delegation skills, supervision and supporting others? Leaders need to training in the core leadership skills: being a good lawyer is the price of playing the game but does not equip you to play well.
The best lawyers aren’t just smart—they’re problem solvers using great decision-making tools and communication skills to deliver outcomes that are right for the clients. They know how to listen, how to lead, and how to navigate complexity by giving themselves the ability and space to think clearly.
Final Thought: Leadership and Culture Is a Choice
The legal profession is at a crossroads. It can continue to reward short-term output at the expense of well-being. Or it can choose a different path—one that values people as much as performance.
The Life in the Law Survey doesn’t offer easy answers. But it does offer a challenge: to think better, lead better, and build firms where excellence and empathy coexist.
Because in the end, the most sustainable advantage in law isn’t your reputation—it’s leading to give yourself and your people the mental capacity to think clearly and articulate the solution whilst not burning out.
I deliver management training for MBL Seminars and Legal Futures, which are primarily webinars with occasional in-person conferences.
Through Bennett Briegal LLP, I also provide monthly management, coaching, and leadership support to Managing Partners/CEOs and Management Boards and in-house training to leadership teams. If you need help, it is available info@bennettbriegal.co.uk
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