More Linklater lawyers are signing on to earn less money in a scheme permitting German non-partners to work 40 hour work weeks for reduced earnings.
The number of Linklaters lawyers who have signed on to the firm’s fixed-hours and reduced-rate pay career has doubled in less than three years, reports show.
Linklaters have taken an increasingly proactive approach towards their lawyers’ careers, including the recent reports on their risk averse approach towards firm social events.
“YourLink”, is a career path developed by Linklaters which offers pre-agreed, regular hours and comes into force on May 1.
It’s German origins come in part at least from the lengthy and onerous career path needed to achieve a legal career in Germany, which lowers the pool of qualified lawyers and also results in high competition from public service agencies and companies looking for in-house lawyers.
These roles have long been considered easier than working at law firms, where a work-life balance is seen as hard to achieve.
“We recognize that alternative, flexible options are increasingly in demand,” Thomas Schmidt, head of human resources at Linklaters, said.
The question for law firms now is whether the lower-earnings alternative is also something that captivates other law firms outside of Germany.
Recently on LawFuel
- What is still missing to close the gap between law firms and legal departments?
- Texas Trial Lawyer Tony Buzbee Buys $15.5 Million Mansion Next Door. Then Calls In The Wrecking Ball
- Thomson Reuters Builds Its Own AI Brain – Here’s Why Thomson May Matter More Than Another Legal Chatbot
- Google Goes for Big Law’s Jugular: Inside Gemini Enterprise for Legal
- From Phone-Hacking Hero to Courtroom Zero – ‘Golden Boy’ Lawyer’s Reputation Tattered By Prince Harry Defeat
- Listed Legal Disrupter Completes Second Major Law Firm Acquisition
- Kirkland’s $500 Million AI Bet Isn’t About Speed. It’s About Killing the Billable HourKirkland & Ellis, the first law firm in history to break $10 billion in revenue, is putting half a billion dollars of its own money into a proprietary AI platform. That’s a big bold move (what else would you expect from Kirklands?) which is not to keep up with Harvey or Legora, or to shave a few hours off due diligence. It’s something far more valuable. The plan is to bottle the firm’s “collective intelligence” and put it in every lawyer’s hands and, in the process, lean hard into the long-predicted death of the billable hour. Log in to read –
- Private Equity Eyes $700m WSHB Deal in Major Test for Big Law’s Ownership Rules
- What Will Clients Still Pay Lawyers For When AI Can Do The Work?
- KPMG Crisis – KPMG General Counsel & HR Chief Exit Firm Days Before Scandal Hearing
- BigLaw’s Private Equity Moment -The Next Deal Won’t Be Paul Weiss
