Keeping-Tabs-Summer-2023

hours. Rather than establishing a specific hours target, associates are assigned a moderate annual
budget, which they manage with a mentor. This approach seeks to help empower associates,
promote discretion over when and how they work, while also teaching the business realities of
practice.
To nurture this moderate hours culture, partners are cautious about the number of files and
projects associates take on, closely monitor associate hours and capacity, and regularly involve
associates in file management and work delegation decisions. The goal for this firm is to work
slightly under capacity so that each file gets the attention it needs and so that there is enough
slack to handle work emergencies when they arise. In this law firm’s experience, taking associate
work/life balance seriously helps establish a healthy and sustainable pace for the firm as a whole.
ALY HÁJI MELISSA PIKE SARAH STRBAN
MENTAL HEALTH
Health and Wellness Initiatives to support
Longevity in the Legal Practice
Aly Háji, Lax O’Sullivan Lisus Gottlieb LLP, Melissa Pike, Pink Larkin, Sarah Strban,
Henein Hutchison Robitaille LLP
The importance of prioritizing health and wellness is becoming a more commonplace conversation
in the legal profession. While traditional approaches to health and wellness such
as allowances and reimbursements, offer important benefits, many firms are also implementing
innovative policies to foster longevity in their workplaces. The YASC Health and
Wellness Working Group canvased YASC members regarding such initiatives and highlight
three below.
Reframing the Billable Target
The billable hour is often raised as a hot-button issue in
relation to health and wellness.
We spoke with a Toronto employment and labour law
firm that has implemented an innovative approach to
the billable hour to promote health and wellness. This
approach is a product of believing that managing hours
and giving associates a high degree of autonomy are
essential factors in avoiding burnout and fostering longevity
in litigation. From the top down, the firm has intentionally
adopted a moderate hours culture. Lawyer
hours typically sit around 1250 a year, with a meaningful
portion of that being made up of pro bono and low bono
Substansive Parental Leave
With respect to pregnancy and parental leaves, some firms are providing greater top-ups so that
associates who choose to take these leaves can do so without financial strain. We spoke with one
such firm, a Nova Scotia and New Brunswick-based labour and employment law and litigation
firm. Under their policy, associate maternity/parental EI benefits are topped up by the firm to 95%
of their salaries for the entirety of a 12-month leave or the pro-rated equivalent for an 18-month
leave. Such leaves also do not impact partnership considerations or delay eligibility.
We spoke with one lawyer at this firm who took a one-year pregnancy and parental leave in
her sixth year of practice and returned from her leave as a partner in her seventh year who said:
“Working at a firm that encourages life outside of work, including family priorities, and not having
a parental leave impact one’s career progression, is a testament to [our firm]’s commitment to its
associates’ longevity in the legal practice and at the firm. Our firm’s collaborative approach also
effectively provides coverage while associates are on leave and for their reintegration into their
work when they return. It is the firm’s view that the practice of law is a marathon – not a sprint. And
we’re very proud of the work environment we’ve created to support that marathon.”
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