By Murray Gottheil | June 12, 2024
Let me tell you about two different law firms.
Big Law Group One is a well-respected Canadian firm with many hundreds of lawyers, some of whom appear to be happier than others. Some of their dearly departed professionals have told me distressing stories about their lives at that firm, and the effect that the work demands had on their mental health. They also shared with me their feeling that the firm let them down when they required accommodation to recover from their mental health problems. They painted a picture of a firm that did not care much about its people, especially after those people became unable or unwilling to continue sacrificing their health on the altar of billable hours.
Big Law Group Two is also a well-respected Canadian firm with many hundreds of lawyers. This firm has been making a real splash in the media about their mental health initiatives. They appear to be putting their money where their mouth is and showing the world that the mental health of their lawyers is important to them. I have to commend them for shining light on this issue and for striving to lift up the legal profession to a better place.
So, which of these two firms would you prefer to work for? If you answered Big Law Group Two, here is the problem. I lied. Big Law Group One and Big Law Group Two are the same firm.
Are the malcontents whom I spoke to just that – losers who could not hack it and need to blame someone else for their shortcomings? Or are they conscientious, hard-working professionals who flamed out trying to excel in a culture that requires you to put your career above everything else?
Is it possible that this firm has decided to address its mental health crisis by identifying and fixing operational problems? Reducing billable hour targets, perhaps?
I have my suspicions, but my best bet is that the idea of fixing the mental health problem in Big Law by reducing billable hours targets for professional staff would be a non-starter. However, it may have made sense to them to devote more of their marketing budget to maintain the flow of young people joining the firm and giving it their all. It is certainly possible that their media presence around this issue is really about that.
Those of you who are as old as I am will remember the Ford Pinto case. Ford had a problem with fuel tanks exploding in low-impact rear-end collisions. Ford lost big when someone leaked the mathematical calculations that management had done showing that the cost of fixing the design defect was more expensive than the cost of paying the wrongful death lawsuits. They learned all about punitive damages on that one.
Is it possible that Big Law has gone full-out Ford Pinto and concluded that the cost of professionals burning out and replacing them with new people is cheaper than the cost of allowing them to live healthy lives?
Murray is a happily retired lawyer who lives in the country, drives a pick-up truck, writes, teaches and mentors. You can reach him at murray@murraygottheil.com or see what he is up to at lawanddisorderinc.com.
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