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Why this firm owner believes flexibility is the future of law
For the founder of Melmark Law, flexible working environments have evolved from being a mere perk to an essential requirement within the legal profession to ensure lawyers can thrive both professionally and personally.
Grace Robbie
Speaking on a recent episode of The Boutique Lawyer Show, Melanie Vairawanathan, the founder of Melbourne-based law firm Melmark Law, emphasised the significance of firm leaders fostering an adaptable and flexible workplace environment. She elaborated on how such an environment is essential for promoting the wellbeing of staff and enabling law firms to not only survive but also thrive in a constantly evolving market.
In the same episode, she shared her story of breaking away from traditional gender roles and discussed how she has effectively balanced her career in law with the responsibilities of motherhood.
Vairawanathan contends that deviating from traditional law firm frameworks is essential for fostering a work environment in which employees perceive themselves as supported and valued.
“It’s so important that we steer away from that traditional law firm model and create flexible working environments where your staff feel supported and valued, and they have [the] option of working from home or having a flexible working day,” she said.
Transitioning to this modern workplace structure, Vairawanathan expressed, promotes mutual respect with lawyers as it acknowledges their expertise.
“It’s important to respect your staff enough to know that they’ve earned their place at the table, and your work as a lawyer can be done at any time of the day or night,” she said.
She further explained that a flexible and supportive law firm also allows your team to achieve a “healthier work/life balance”, leading to a decrease in “stress [and] prevents burnout”, which are prevalent challenges in the legal field.
Vairawanathan explained the importance of proactively enabling staff to work a hybrid model, highlighting the need to shift this arrangement from being viewed as a luxury to becoming a standard practice.
“I think it’s important as a leader or as an owner of a law firm to be able to give your staff that opportunity and the option without them having to ask you to create an environment where making this type of hybridisation model a norm as opposed to a luxury,” she said.
She contends that there is a growing demand for flexibility within law firms, as the traditional nine-to-five workday and excessively long working hours are seen as outdated and impractical.
“There is no need for that rigid, you know, nine-to-five or nine-to-nine, the crazy working hours that [were] expected of lawyers when we start out as leaders. It’s important for us to sort of build that in our culture from the ground up,” she said.
This shift in flexibility, Vairawanathan highlighted, particularly holds significance for female lawyers who often encounter added challenges in managing their time between their professional obligations and the family responsibilities associated with pregnancy.
“It will benefit women lawyers, especially those like me that have careers [where] you are in sort of that corporate culture, and then you fall pregnant; if you take 12 months off, you’re really worried about where your career lies,” she said.
“Having this sort of flexible arrangement just means that female lawyers, especially young female lawyers, those wanting to start a family, have that option of working from home; that would greatly benefit them.”
However, Vairawanathan stressed that the push for a more flexible work environment should not exclusively target young females. Instead, pursuing a healthier work environment is advantageous for the legal profession as a whole.
“It doesn’t need to be limited to female lawyers, [or] even the younger generation. There needs to be a work/life balance that prevents burnout [as it] benefits the legal profession as a whole,” she said.
