Flexible work practices are already firmly established as an essential element of human resource management within law firms. Care needs to be taken to distinguish between fads and trends, however, I am confident that work flexibility will continue be a key feature of the office in 2020.

It is now commonplace for flexible work practices to be extended beyond lawyers to support staff. The acknowledged role of parenting, both mothering and fathering, will mean parents' work conditions will continue to be adjusted to meet the needs of their children. I believe that shared parenting arrangements will, for some, result in week-on-week-off work to match the children's care arrangements.

Flexible work practices are no longer the domain of those with children or other dependents. Personal needs and desires of workers will also impact on work hours. Some may demand a long weekend every weekend to fulfil their love of surfing. Others may want to combine careers. I foresee working lawyers also being artists or having careers in music, and not just on weekends. Our education system offers so much diversity in learning. Work practices will respect the diverse talents and desires of workers.

Technology will develop to support this flexibility - resulting in less clocking on and off and a more task-oriented measurement of a legal worker's output. Also the increasingly accepted use of mobile communication and portable technology will continue to reduce the need for specific location-based service provision.

The competitive nature of law firms ensures that the work practices to retain good staff which are the key driver of the trends in flexible work practices now will become more so in the future. Into 2020 it's difficult to comment on exactly what form of, or variations to, work practices will become the norm. These will be shaped by the changing societal influences on the lifestyles of employees and the advances in technology.

- Don Leembruggen is the managing partner of Barry & Nilsson Lawyers