Harassment and bullying lawyers an unacceptable red line at work and at court, says incoming Chief Justice

FIVE PRESSURE POINTS

Also speaking at the symposium, Chief Justice Menon set out five areas that bear on the sustainability of the profession – the intensity of legal work, how lawyers are measured and rewarded, workplace culture, leadership and mentorship, and differing generational expectations.

Keeping the profession sustainable cannot mean eliminating pressure, lowering professional standards or treating every difficult demand as objectionable, he said.

But young lawyers now experience the intensity of legal work differently from previous generations, largely because of technology, he added.

“Earlier generations could take home only as much work as their briefcases could carry. Today, work follows lawyers everywhere, all the time, all at once. And the possibility of being contacted at any hour by seniors and by clients can quickly become an expectation, indeed a demand, of constant availability.”

Young lawyers have also consistently identified billable targets as a major source of pressure, he said, citing complaints about being held accountable for targets or for securing their own clients early in their careers, without enough support and with little control over how work is allocated or fees recovered.

This raises deeper questions, said Chief Justice Menon. “Do our incentives reward what we should truly value, such as efficient work, sound judgment and ethical practices?”

He also questioned whether it is realistic to place such expectations on young lawyers moving from law school into practice, and whether the profession is devoting enough attention to preparing them for a long, intense but fulfilling career.

“Should we not be devoting attention to whether the hourly billing model remains relevant in this age of AI?”

Demanding work can still feel meaningful and sustainable in an environment of trust and respect, said Chief Justice Menon. But when compounded by bullying, abusive communication or intimidation, pressures that might have been manageable can become intolerable.

“Let me be clear that not every demanding deadline, late instruction or disagreement amounts to bullying. Partners and senior lawyers must manage clients and matters and make difficult judgments under pressure. There must therefore be understanding on both sides,” he said.

“But abusive emails, humiliation and persistent disrespect towards colleagues have no place in our profession.”

LEADERSHIP AND GENERATIONAL GAP

Chief Justice Menon also stressed the importance of mentorship, noting that young lawyers do not become good lawyers simply by receiving assignments and producing work.

They want more guidance from seniors who create meaningful opportunities for them, he said, but only about one in 10 respondents to the Young Lawyers’ Survey had taken part in a structured mentorship programme.

“Part of the difficulty may stem from the fact that lawyers are trained in law, and not necessarily in personnel management. And seniority is often assumed without more to equip us to supervise, to delegate, to lead teams and to know how to develop people,” he said.

“But the reality is that technical excellence as a lawyer does not automatically produce managerial or mentoring ability.”

The profession needs to be more deliberate about equipping senior lawyers to lead and mentor well, and about recognising how central these responsibilities are, he said.

When senior lawyers joined the profession, the career path was “relatively settled”, and long hours and personal sacrifice were seen as part of mastering the craft while offering a secure route to partnership, said Chief Justice Menon.

But many younger lawyers place greater weight on boundaries, flexibility and meaningful work, he noted, adding that the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee has attributed this partly to their formative experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In addition … the sort of constant connectivity and accessibility that they’re subject to is simply not part of the realities that I, and I dare say most of our senior colleagues, had to endure at a comparable stage of our careers,” he said.

The route to partnership may no longer be perceived as secure or reachable, he added.

“These are tensions not to be equated with demands for an easier profession, but rather they may reflect a different understanding of what professional commitment can sustainably require,” he said.

A lawyer worn down for long enough stops asking whether they should change firms, and starts asking if they should stay a lawyer, said Chief Justice Menon.

Younger lawyers have more choices than previous generations, and while this mobility is a good thing, continuing to lose talent could leave the profession smaller and weaker, he added.

This is why sustainability is not just an employment or organisational concern, said Chief Justice Menon. “The justice system cannot remain strong if the profession on which it depends is unable to sustain meaningful careers that must endure if they are to achieve their fullest potential.”

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