In-House lawyers prioritise business growth as pressure on budgets continue
DLA Piper has published the second in a series of WIN (What In-house lawyers Need) Insights Reports following the well-received inaugural report of 2020. Surveying 293 lawyers between November 2021 and January 2022, this report is focused around the in-house legal function and looks at a wide range of issues ranging from flexible working policies and mental health through to the business growth agenda and ESG policies.
The majority of respondents (59%) report that the in-house team’s strategic objectives have changed over the past year, with many now involved in strategic decision making (45%), an increase of 5% from the 2020 report. At the same time, almost 60% expect increased time pressure on their teams’ budget with only 18% predicting an increase in their own internal budgets. So with the majority of budgets either staying the same or being reduced, in-house teams remain in a position of trying to do more with less.
When it comes to mental health, three quarters of respondents feel supported, however this leaves a quarter who feel that their organisations have not done enough to address mental health issues, up from 7% who felt unsupported in the 2020 report. With a squeeze on resources this pressure is set to continue.In terms of business priorities, compliance and risk management is considered, unsurprisingly, the key element of the in-house lawyers role, with 41% of respondents reporting this as a top priority. This is followed closely by 33% of respondents stating that pursuing opportunities for business growth as the next priority in line as we emerge from the pandemic.
When it comes to ESG policies and expectations within firms, less than half (41%) of in-house lawyers feel that their organisation’s ESG policies meet market expectations, with over a fifth not even aware of what their organisation’s ESG policies are or see no impact from them in daily business life.It’s already well known that the pandemic has accelerated the conversation about where and when in-house lawyers work and as a result 75% of respondents’ employers have implemented a permanent flexible working option. Surprisingly, however, over 20% say their employer still doesn’t have such a policy.
Although working remotely seems to be here to stay, 72% of respondents felt that building and maintaining relationships had suffered over the course of the pandemic with 70% also experiencing difficulty separating work from their home life. This presents employers with the challenge of improving these metrics whilst maintaining the flexibility that is now expected. As proposed in the 2020 WIN report, further investment into collaborative tech and an increased focus on mental wellbeing may help with this.
Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, DLA Piper’s Managing Director of Sustainability and Resilience and WIN’s senior sponsor said: “It is clear that in-house lawyers are, for the most part, settling in to a new era of flexible working. This brings with it clear benefits in terms of work-life balance but also challenges when it comes to staying connected with colleagues, which is so important in the sharing of trends and ideas. This also comes at a time when the role of the in-house team continues to evolve, as they become increasingly involved in strategic decision-making as well as the more traditional role of overseeing compliance and risk management. It is also clear that business growth is now firmly back on the agenda post pandemic but with other issues, such as ESG gaining more prominence, a potential global or regional recession in the offing and continued pressure on internal budgets, the question of how to do more with less remains. The need to keep up the industry dialogue with our WIN network has never been greater.”
For a full copy of the report please download here.
