It’s no surprise that work life balance and culture within the legal profession are often on the receiving end of less than positive reviews when considering the demanding nature of the industry. Although firms have seen great progress to improve workplace culture with the adoption of automation technologies post-pandemic and leaders embracing a more humanistic style of leadership, the Australian law sector still has a way to go towards improving employee wellbeing. A recent report from the Victorian Legal Services Board + Commissioner uncovered that overall, 75% of law professionals reported that workplace culture contributed positively overall to their well-being. However, when those numbers were examined further, they revealed that a significant proportion of female (29%) and junior practitioners felt that their workplace culture contributed negatively to their experience. The findings are indicative that, although there may have been improvements since 2020, there is still room for progress within the legal industry.
For Griffin’s team however, their passion for employee wellbeing and firm culture remains at the heart of their operations and has given the boutique firm an attractive edge to candidates in a cut-throat talent market. Hugh notes that unsustainable expectations can come at a cost to firms: “Many law firms are high performance and can produce high quality output, however this often comes at the expense of the culture. Our dedication and persistence to build and maintain our culture, has been a huge differentiator for us and the reason we’ve been able to attract and retain top tier talent, even in a very challenging labour market.”
