The state of the workplace and sentiment of legal sector in 2020

It goes without saying that 2020 has been a year like no other. We began the year with Brexit as the big event on the horizon that was going to have unknown impacts not only within the legal sector but more generally. Little did we know that the ‘Big B’ would be taking a big backseat to a more immediate and present event.  

COVID-19 has undoubtedly had a huge and likely lasting impact on the way the world does and will continue to work moving into the future. Be it the ways in which we socialise, how we get an education or the work we do in our careers almost every facet of life has seen some ramification from the global spread of Coronavirus.

No better protected from COVID-enforced change than any other industry of business, the legal sector has undergone considerable transformation over the past seven or so months. Be it the mass move to remote working, the near complete stop of face to face meetings with clients or the closure of courts, slow down in the residential property market and the huge hit to the economy, the legal sector has been impacted in a huge way.

To track this impact and the challenges faced, Weekly10, Today’s Conveyancer (our sister publication) and The Practical Vision Network joined forces.  

Across September and October, we invited members of the UK legal sector to partake in a survey-based study looking at the current impacts of COVID19 and how business is now shaping up.

With more than 2,538 responses collected we have been able to look and chart some of the key changes and ongoing challenge facing the industry through 2020 and look at some of the short-term future impacts that may lie ahead.

A few of the study’s key findings include:

• 81% of legal workers saw some amount of home-working during lockdown
  • Of these, 47% were more productive than when working from the office.
• 62% of employees would like to work remotely for at least half the time.
  • 21% of employees surveyed found themselves on furlough at some point in 2020, with support staff the most heavily effected.
• 38% of furloughed staff no longer see their futures with their current employer.
  • The report will help shine a light on why this is the case.
• 70% of firms involved have seen an upturn in work over the past two months.

Download the full 21-page report today to get the full findings of the study and if you have any questions, comments on points of view then please feel free to get in touch – contact@weekly10.com or for more information about Weekly10, please visit us here.