Senior associates at Allen & Overy
Context and background
Jane and Emma * are both six years PQE, and senior associates at Allen & Overy. The job share was instigated when Jane came back to work after having her second child and identified that she needed to find a different way of working. She identified Emma as a potential job share partner. Emma, at that time, was on maternity leave herself.
The initially agreement and contracting took some time in order to maximise the chances of the arrangement working effectively.
Practicalities
Both women work eight-ten hour days and also log on for two-three hours in the evening. They both work on Wednesday which provides valuable overlap and handover time. In respect of the billable work the 'timer' is handed over at this point which ensures that the clients are not double billed. This is an area that they work hard to ensure they monitor. Handover involves a long email and a 'to do' list.
Where client demands require working late evenings and weekends, this is shared evenly. Both lawyers are willing to flex as the work requires to meet their clients' needs.
Productivity: Jane routinely achieves 35 per cent over her billable hours target. This is a 'supported arrangement' where 'trust is key', that is, knowing that the other person is responding and working just as you would in the same situation.
Flexibility is also a critical part of the success of this job share arrangement. The women highlighted the need to think of colleagues, team and the fact that they are operating in a highly competitive market. Working on the same cases, they need to be seen as one person, so having a similar PQE and background is very helpful. This, in turn, enables them to delegate and focus on work requiring their experience and expertise.
Key learning points
Willingness to be flexible. Flexible working can flourish when there is flexibility on both sides. Particularly in the context of ensuring that clients experience seamless coverage. 'Ensuring bullet proof coverage of all the bases' is required, as is the importance to demonstrate a willingness to be flexible to the client's needs and requests.
The importance of a 'good fit'. Both lawyers had very similar levels of experience, drive and work ethic. Both are very motivated to serve their clients to high standards. 'Sharing the same priorities enables the job share to work well.' In considering a good match, effective job shares could be likened to a good marriage partnership. As in a marriage, identical views are uncommon but to be able to work and respond to clients in a similar way is important. Clients need consistency of approach and service. Understanding how both individuals work most effectively can positively impact the productivity and performance of the role.
- Benefits for the individual:
- Highly motivated to make it work for them - enabling them to undertake high quality challenging work three days a week.
- For highly experienced people seeking to remain actively engaged in their career development and interesting work, both saw this option as an active choice - in terms of progression.
- Benefits for the organisation:
- Two highly qualified experienced lawyers fulfilling one role
- Retaining training investment
- Avoiding loss of talent to competitors
- Seamless coverage and servicing of clients
* Names have been changed in some case studies to preserve respondent anonymity