Back To Law Matters | Spring 2015

Attrition in the Profession

In 2011 I was elected as a Bencher with the Law Society of Alberta – and eventually became the Chair of their Access to Justice Committee and their Retention and Re-engagement Task Force.  And I learned, first hand, of the complex and symbiotic relationship between a healthy legal profession and the public interest.

I learned that a healthy lawyer is less likely to make mistakes, is less likely to “cut corners”, and is less likely to allow stress to compromise their ethical obligations.  A healthy lawyer is more likely to remain within private practice, providing adequate lawyers for a growing public need to help them navigate the increasing complexity of our courts and regulatory bodies.

I also learned that the supposed “monopoly” we have as a profession, where we profit from the benefit of limiting the practice of law to licensed, trained, and insured lawyers – isn’t actually resulting in our “living the dream” as many might suggest.

Recent statistics in Alberta suggest not only is the public dissatisfied with the current reality of the legal system – but so too are many lawyers.

In 2010, the Law Society of Alberta implemented the Retention and Re-engagement Task Force, established initially to encourage strategies to improve diversity and equity in the legal profession, which were seen as integral to improving access to justice.  As part of that effort, the Law Society monitored statistics and obtained “exit” information on those leaving private practice, and discovered some rather alarming data:

Within 5 years of being called to the bar, 57% of women and 49% of men will have left private practice.  Many will move to in-house or government positions, but close to 30% (28% of women and 29% of men) will have left the practice of law entirely.1

So much for “living the dream”.

The reality is that while the cost of justice in Canada has grown significantly over the years this has not resulted in a happier or healthier profession. In fact it would appear just the opposite - that, according to the foregoing, approximately one half of our lawyers are leaving private practice within the first five years of practice.

Why?

Well, thanks to the Law Society of Alberta who has been conducting exit surveys on those leaving practice, the primary reasons given for those who left practice either permanently or temporarily were:

  • Pursuit of better work/life balance (69%)
  • More rewarding opportunities elsewhere (63%)
  • Dissatisfaction with the practice of law (56%)

Some of the specific comments of respondents included:

...There are other career options that might have been more rewarding with less debt.  There may be alternative legal areas more suited to me but I have to stay at a “higher end” firm with guaranteed salary income because I can’t afford to pay debt and family expenses otherwise.  I have friends who are RCMP and firefighters who make what I do, but enjoy significant time off and pensions and are generally happier.

And, more to the point:

…The law is a lousy business.  The stress that this creates was overwhelming... I just can’t be bothered to put up with the stress and strain of practice anymore.  Life is too valuable to go to an early grave practicing law.2

Most telling, perhaps, was the response to the question, “If you could do it all over again, would you become a lawyer?”  For those under 30, only 33% responded that they would, and for those aged 30-39, only 40% responded in the affirmative.  

Accordingly, it appears clear that we are not a “healthy” profession from the point of view of retaining our youngest and our brightest.  And this does not seem to be limited to the Alberta experience – while the numbers were more skewed based upon the gender of those responding, attrition information from places as diverse as Massachusetts and Australia confirm that “work life balance” is the predominant motivator to leave legal practice.

In Massachusetts: 

For women—whether they leave firm practice as associates, junior partners, or partners—the most cited reason is “difficulty integrating work and family/personal life.”3

In Australia: 

…work–life balance was one of the top ten elements of work causing job dissatisfaction among practicing lawyers (30 per cent of female respondents and  26 per cent of male respondents.)4

So, then, what do we make of this?  Do we run for the hills, to government or in-house counsel jobs – further exacerbating a growing access to justice problem?

Or, rather, do we recognize the reality that if we don’t make some changes – doing our jobs the way we’ve always done it is likely to kill us, figuratively or perhaps even literally (according to a Psychology Today article lawyers lead all other professions in rates of depression and suicide5).

As senior counsel and employers, perhaps it’s time to re-conceive the vision of the “successful” lawyer being one who burns the candle at both ends.  Perhaps it’s time to step off of the hamster wheel for a moment to consider a different business model. Where “work-life” balance becomes a greater priority in our offices.  Where, perhaps, we increase office efficiencies, learn to take greater advantage of technology and staff utilization to deliver more while we actually do somewhat less – to the potential benefit of ourselves and our clients.

The length of this article prohibits any great discussion of the answers – that is perhaps best left to you, the reader, to recognize in your own practice where opportunities for greater work-life balance and efficiencies present themselves...  but lest we ignore the writing on the walls, the time for innovation and change is now.


  1. Retention and Re-Engagement Task Force, Final Report – Law Society of Alberta, October 2014.
  2. Retention and Re-Engagement Task Force, Final Report, p. 17.
  3. Women Lawyers and Obstacles to Leadership, Harrington, Mona and Hsi, Helen (2007) 
    http://web.mit.edu/workplacecenter/docs/law-report_4-07.pdf, p.12.
  4. “The Holy Grail: Work-Life Balance in the Legal Profession”, UNSW Law Journal Vol. 38(1), p.288 
    http://www.unswlawjournal.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/g11_drew_datta_howieson.pdf.
  5. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/therapy-matters/201105/the-depressed-lawyer