Law departments ask in RFPs about flexible working policies at law firms

From PLCLaw Dept. Quart., Vol. 3, Jan.-March 2007 at 15-16, comes survey data about how many mostly European law departments http://ld.practicallaw.com/2-214-7952 require information on “flexible working policies” within the law firms they might retain. According to the article, 4.8 percent of the responding departments ask for that information on what I presume covers policies on telecommuting, alternatives to the traditional 9-5 hours, maternity leave, and other arrangements (See my post of March 24, 2007: family-friendly as a term for flexible arrangements; Nov. 30, 2007: whether family-friendliness in firms matters to law departments.).

Even so, when it’s crunch time to pick a firm, I doubt that lawyers in law departments that say they ask about flextime polices, are swayed much by a firm’s stance on flexible working policies (See my post of April 22, 2008: “ethical infrastructure” of law firms unlikely to influence selection of firms.).