How a 4 day week can increase efficiency in the legal industry
Maria Jędrzejewska, head of PR and Marketing at Maruszkin Law in Warsaw, Poland, talks about their experience as a law firm switching to a 4 day work week.
Can lawyers work a 4 day week?
The legal profession is often associated with non-stop work. It is an industry involving a great deal of stress. However, in fact pretty much any kind of white-collar work can be arranged this way, provided you are well-organized and communicate clearly with clients.
The most important aspect in the legal industry is to plan work several days ahead and use digital solutions, e.g. filling and receiving official documents via online systems.
With efficient organization it is possible to shorten the work week to a 4 day week without compromising on the quality of legal services and the ability to render them within reasonable timeframes.
How does a 4 day work week work for law firms?
In the case of our law firm, Maruszkin in Warsaw, Poland, the 4 day week works very well.
Perhaps, this is due to the collaborative spirit, involving a great deal of trust, developed within the team and the sense of responsibility by each of its members. This approach requires an awareness that this style of work is not a market standard, i.e. a privilege.
Each of us knows that if our client's case requires it, we have to come to work on Friday (Fridays are usually our day off). We think the key here is internal trust. The effects we see outweigh the costs we have to incur.
Every member of our team could confirm that their quality of life has increased since they've been working in this system. The sense of happiness affects the pace of work, efficiency and even attitude.
Good humor and calmness when dealing with clients in the legal industry has a direct impact on the quality of customer service. And it's no secret that customer acquisition in our industry is mostly about building relationships.
What should a lawyer do if they want to work a 4 day week?
In our experience, proper preparation for such a solution is the key to success and lack of workplace frustration. The most important are three aspects:
1. Regular team meetings on the first working day of the week
This allows you to look at all the topics and deadlines at hand and plan the week. The basic rules is that urgent and important are prioritized at the beginning of the week . Then, even if something is left undone, it can be carried over to the next week.
At such a meeting we can also determine whether it will be necessary to extend the week to five days, but shorten the next week to three days. But in practice, such a necessity appears extremely rarely.
2. Digital Task System
Task management in an asynchronous system allows each team member to track the progress of work on each issue. This allows us to react quickly if we noticed that a task is at risk of missing a deadline. We stay in touch all the time on the Teams platform - we mainly work remotely. We inform each other also about less important events during the week, so everyone has a greater sense of control.
3. Electronic mail pickup system
In Poland, correspondence between authorities, entities and law firms is still often done via traditional mail. In our case, a big change has been the introduce a system of receiving official documents digitally.
This has a huge impact on the efficiency and speed of our work. Thanks to this, even if we don't pick up the mail on Friday, because we don't work then, we do not incur any negative consequences.
In our opinion, if you want to introduce a 4 day week in a law firm, the most important thing is work organization and trust.
Feasibility of a 4 day week in the legal profession
Due to the nature of legal work being billed by the hour, our income dropped initially. After an initial settling-in period, we found that we acquired new clients which made up for this.
Currently, we are trying to move away from hourly billing of lawyers' work to selling products instead. Some clients prefer to pay a predetermined price for a product, because it gives them more predictability and a sense of security.
For us, it's a win-win effect. We are able to schedule our own work to meet the deadline, and because of the level of rest and motivation of the lawyers, tasks are completed faster.
Interested in trialling a 4 day work week in your law firm?
We’ve worked with thousands of organizations to reduce their working hours through optimizations. If you’re interested in trialing a 4 day work week, we offer a range of services which are suited to your organization’s needs.
Fill in this form and one of our team will reach out to speak to you about how a 4 day work week can bring lasting value to your organization.
How can I contribute to the 4 day week movement?
So, how can we ensure the 4 day work week becomes routine over radical? We’re a non-profit organization looking to bring the 4 day week to as many people across the globe as possible. Our goal is to create a million years of new free time through 4 day week trials and transitions.
Would you like to sponsor us on this journey? Donate as little as $2 per month to become a part of this movement for a 4 Day World.
How can I improve my business with a 4 day week?
We offer support for businesses looking to make the shift to reduced-hour working in several ways:
1. Our Foundation Course
Our Foundation Course is designed for business leaders, consultants and entrepreneurs looking to understand how to implement a 4 day week in their organization, or to support the implementation of one in another organization.
We teach you through six video lecture modules, using the 100-80-100™ model.
2. Our Pilot Programs
We run 4 day week pilots using the 100-80-100™ principle across the globe. You can trial a 4 day week alongside other organizations in your geography. There are many pilots happening in various countries across the world.
Sign up here to register your interest in being a part of one of our pilots and we will let you know when the pilot in your country is kicking off! Alternatively, we have two global pilots happening in 2024, in March and September.
3. One-on-One Consulting
This is for larger organizations who want bespoke one-on-one support throughout the 4 day week planning and implementation process. We will provide you with world-leading experts in reducing working hours to help you on this journey.
