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Reduced Hours
The practice of law is particularly easy to carry out on a reduced hours
basis. Don't believe it? Consider the following:
- Until the 1980s, the average attorney worked less than 40
hours per week -- a schedule that would clearly be considered
"part-time" by today's standards.
- Few attorneys today are available to a particular client or
a particular senior partner "full-time." Rather, most
attorneys work for several clients, for several partners, or on several
projects at once. The attorney is available only part-time for each.
- Most attorneys travel on business to client meetings,
depositions, hearings, conferences, and the like. They stay in touch
with their office, decide what matters need their attention right away, and
defer action on the rest until they return to the office.
- Senior attorneys often participate in a "phased
retirement" whereby they work for fewer clients or on fewer matters,
and are in the office fewer hours.
There are a number of ways that attorneys can work a reduced hours
schedule. Here are several:
- An attorney can reduce the number of clients or matters the
attorney handles, and cut back on the number of hours or days per week that
the attorney is in the office. This approach may be most desirable to
attorneys who seek reduced hours for child care or elder care.
- An attorney can reduce the number of clients or matters the
attorney handles, and cut back on the number of hours per year that
the attorney works. This permits an attorney to work longer hours at
the office when required and to take long, scheduled blocks of time
off. This approach may be most desirable to attorneys who seek reduced
hours for quality of life issues such as travel, education, and athletic
competition.
- Two attorneys can team up and "job share."
While this is virtually unheard of in the D.C. legal community, it has been
tried successfully elsewhere. Job sharing permits complete coverage
for clients and may be well-suited to the 24/7 demands of internet clients.
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